Flight times different: Asiana & Korean Air ICN - LHR

[haydensydney]

My +1 and I are flying Asiana from ICN - LHR, and our friend is also flying the route on Korean Air. Her flight pretty much leaves the same time as us, but her arrival into LHR is more than 1 hour before we arrive.

I believe she is on a 747 and we are on a 777 - would this make such a big difference? ETOPS perhaps?

Do we have any sage's on here that can enlighten me?

 

[Boris spatsky]

747 is a bit quicker i believe, M0.85 v M0.83, but that is only 20km/h difference, which should only be about 15-30 mins quicker on the route. Maybe your airline factors in a bitmore 'fat' for ATC/wind? Could also be preferred route selection eg one airline doesn't want to fly over Afghanistan due to risk/issues with clearances so goes the long way to avoid it?

 

[NM]

Different airlines use different methods to determine what they put into schedules. Some like to over-estimate and allow for things like ATC delays, while other like to be optimistic.

Yes, there is a difference in cruising speed of different aircraft types, but on the busy routes the speed is determined by the separation from the aircraft in front at the same altitude. So for most trips from Asia to London, the aircraft will be traveling at similar speeds through the air routes. 747 drivers often get frustrated if stuck behind an A340 trying to fight the gravitational pull and relying on the earth's rotation to ensure it climbs. By comparison, BA schedules its B747 at 15 mins shorter flying time than B777 on the HKG-LHR route (12:35 vs 12:50), but CX schedules B747 and B777 the same on that route (12:45).

But 1 hour difference seems an extreme example. I can only assume one is based on the reality of London air traffic control and the other is based on assuming a straight-in approach. Its also possible that one airline chooses or is not permitted to overfly certain countries along the way.

There can certainly be variations of an hour or more when comparing east-bound verses west-bound.

 

[haydensydney]

It's interesting isn't it...

OZ521 departs ICN at 1330, arrives LHR 1730
KE907 departs ICN at 1310, arrives LHR 1620

 

[here2go]

It's interesting isn't it...


OZ521 departs ICN at 1330, arrives LHR 1730
KE907 departs ICN at 1310, arrives LHR 1620

Mongolians don't like Sky Team in their airspace? Great Circle Mapper

 

[haydensydney]

And for those following at home, here is my TR from the above OZ521 ICN-LHR flight

Review: Asiana Business Class OZ521 (Seoul - London) | flymefunky.com