Advice for flying to Tahiti?

[Anonymous]

OP here again - thanks to all of you for these helpful replies. I'm talking to my mom later this week and will go over the options with her. We will definitely do the overnight/long layover in SFO. She will need it and I know she would like to be as rested as possible when we get there. And yes, we are definitely getting a wheelchair for at least the airports. Thanks, all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Airline family here and we have done most of the routes. My recommendation: Fly United IAD-SFO on the 757 or 787 morning flight in Polaris or lay flat seats on the 757. They usually fly one of those in the morning to SFO. Land by noon.

1:30pm 787 flight to PPT in Polaris. Use Polaris lounge in between at SFO. I would absolutely not do a layover in SF. She will be comfortable in Polaris transcon and not tired for the pacific hop.

+1 to the quoted bits above. Yesterday, at least, it was a UA 787-800 (international configuration with Polaris) on the early IAD->SFO flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask your mom whether she prefers the one-night stopover on the West Coast, or would rather have a layover of a few hours and then keep going.

My mom is at the point where she prefers her own bed if at all possible. If that's not possible (like when traveling), she wants to minimize the number of times she has to pack/unpack/sleep in a strange bed. We think the hotel overnight sounds easier, but often for seniors it results in LESS rest -- she might be getting on the plane even more exhausted than if you just swapped planes at SFO and kept going.

+1
With my elderly relatives, it’s the in and out of airports and security that’s exhausting. They would much prefer to do the flights in one go and would hate the idea of leaving the airport, dealing w/ check in at a hotel and then check out, back to the airport, more security, etc. Just get a connecting flight that doesn’t require a rush and go to the Polaris lounge.

[Anonymous]

NP. This is a little different advice, but make sure your mom is getting up and walking around during the flight as much as she can. I understand she may have mobility issues, but my wife (significantly younger than your mom) got DVT when we flew to Fiji. She didn't get up the entire flight other than to use the restroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Tahiti 2 years ago. We spent a night in LA on the way there and back. It helped a lot!

+1. This is correct. Fly to LA first.