Why actual travel times differ?

[luclen]

Hi all

Just a quick question that I have always wondered but never known the answer too????

Why do flight times differ between different carriers for the same distance travelled?

For example, a flight from Nadi to Sydney on AP/Qantas on a 747 take 4 H 25 min but a flight on the VB 737 take 3 H 50 min??

I thought the 747 flight would be faster?????

If any of you experts could finally answer this query it would be much appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[medhead]

I have no idea on your question. Red ones are faster?
But from weekly ADL-SYD return flights I think the times are total BS anyway. Take my flight now it is scheduled to leave at 20:45 and landed at ADL at 22:25. Add on the 30 minutes and that is 2 hours 10 minutes, that doesn't include boarding or deplaning. But they always claim the flight time is like 1 hour 40 minutes.

Anyway sorry I didn't answer the question but I just don't think published flight times mean much.

 

[markis10]

Flight times are gate to gate estimates by the airline and may take into account expected delays on arrival due to traffic, if you have a close look at the same route over a day there will often be differences for the same airline and aircraft type in expectation of traffic delays and peak hour madness etc.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Wind and take off activity at originating airport

 

[oz_mark]

Where are you seeing 3h 50min for DJ? The timetable shows 4h 50m.

 

[anat0l]

Where are you seeing 3h 50min for DJ? The timetable shows 4h 50m.

Time zone and DST bug strikes again!


It should be noted that timetable times (e.g. on websites) usually denote gate to gate times, i.e. between the time you push off the gate at the origin to the time you come to dock at the gate at the destination. The flying time as announced by the crew is usually the actual time in the air, i.e. "wheels up to touch down". This is why, say, a BNE-SYD flight might take 1h 35min, but the captain reports a flying time of only 1h (the other 30min is to allow for taxiing and so on).

In some cases, airlines "pad" the timetables to give them an allowance buffer and to otherwise show that most of the time they are early

 

[Mal]

Different planes travel at different speeds. Different carriers instruct their pilots differently which speed they should fly at. Expected winds on the journey can differ in different seasons. Air Traffic control can delay planes during certain peak times.

Plenty of reasons why the times can differ between airplane types, different airlines, different times, and different seasons.

 

[luclen]

Thankyou kindly for all the replies, they are very helpful!

I got the times from Zuji.

When we flew syd to nadi in April on VA actual flight time was 3h35min but AP/VB show something like 5 h....so curious to know why it all differs!

I have been monitoring flight prices daily for Xmas to Nadi return, and I am so amazed how a sector can change so rapidly in a day to day basis!! I am trying to grab a last minute deal but still have to convince hubby that we can justify another trip as it's our 4th this year!

But thanks to you guys I am slowly increasing my knowledge in the aviation industry!

 

[markis10]

ThiS thread does bring up a good point, what is a departure time? Some airlines determine it to be door closed, or brake off, some determine it to be push back, while others class wheels up as the departure time. In the ATC world, departure time is the time at which the aircraft has completed maneuvering and is on the correct departure track, which can often be quite a few minutes after wheels up!

 

[Worldtraveller8888]

For the purposes of measuring on-time performance, Qantas departure time is brakes release. That usually, but not always, corresponds closely with push back.

If an ATC delay is expected (eg. waiting for an incoming aircraft to taxi onto a nearby bay, route clearance etc), then brakes may be released and the aircraft not push back for a while.

Arrival time is the time when the brakes are parked.

 

[k_sheep]

In some cases, airlines "pad" the timetables to give them an allowance buffer and to otherwise show that most of the time they are early

I always assumed this was the case particularly with LCCs - their flight times are always longer than the full carriers so assumed it was just tweaking their stats. Amazing how many AK / FD flights I've been on where the pilot announces "horray we arrived early, aren't you lucky?! How awesome are we?!" or some such drivel.