Flight Length... LHR-MCO

[disney332]

The jet stream has a massive part to play in flight times.

On the way out, a strong jet, is normally avoided by a longer route, which actually uses less fuel.

On the way back a strong jet can reduce the flight time dramatically.

Published Flight times are always the average and as indicated above, the cruising speed is also relative to the type of aircraft used.

Disney332

[Jiljo]

I was wondering if Virgin are deliberately flying them a little bit slower to conserve fuel, as they seem to be making a big thing about how environmentally friendly they are.

[VS075]

Originally Posted by Jiljo

I was wondering if Virgin are deliberately flying them a little bit slower to conserve fuel, as they seem to be making a big thing about how environmentally friendly they are.

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Their speeds are directly comparable to those of other airlines including British Airways.

Over the Atlantic, the speed you must fly at is more often than not dictated to you due to the way aircraft are separated eg no radar.

[sophiepop]

Mine says 10hrs 10mins too but the flight going 30 minutes earlier is 9hrs 45mins, its exactly the same plane. And we are June so its not the winter flight

[Silvercat]

I always wondered why the return flight from Orlando seemed to be quicker than the outward bound flight, but decided it must be because we are flying downhill on the way back...

[JoeA]

If I’m not mistaken, It’s not so much the speed of the aircraft, it’s also the routing. 747s could fly a little more directly over the ocean whereas twin engine aircraft aren’t allowed to follow that flight plan.

[danisleigh]

My brother In law said that the 10h10 mins is the time slot but it rarely takes the full time. We went to Toronto 2 weeks ago and the flight time was stated as 7h 50 mins on my booking but when we boarded it was 6h 50 mins.

[SteveC]

I’m sure the airlines are building in a bit of slack to improve their on-time percentages.

Most recently we flew from Orlando to Charlotte which should take 2 hours but after an hour and 20 minutes I was surprised to hear the pilot say ‘prepare for landing’ and we were down a few minutes later. Due to a ‘missing pilot’ issue our recent LHR flight to Barbados was 4 and a half hours late but whilst sitting by the pool nearly every day thereafter the Virgin plane flew overhead half an hour before it was scheduled to land. We also had a 3 hour flight from New York to Tampa wait 40 minutes to take off and still arrive early.

[VS075]

Originally Posted by JoeA

If I’m not mistaken, It’s not so much the speed of the aircraft, it’s also the routing. 747s could fly a little more directly over the ocean whereas twin engine aircraft aren’t allowed to follow that flight plan.

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They all fly via the same NAT tracks over the ocean (coordinates) - Twin engine aircraft normally have to be within 180 minutes of an airport if they were to lose an engine - that doesn’t apply to a 4 engined aircraft due to the surplus engines, but that doesn’t impact the Atlantic routing

[DonkeyCentreArf]

Over the years, all flight times have got longer. It's not just on-time percentages but also reduces payments for late arrivals etc.

At Heathrow, it can take an age to get from pushback to take-off, more so than Gatwick. I've had quite a nap once sat in my seat and woken up to find myself still on the ground!