what is the average height for commercial jet airliners to travel at ?

Answer 1

26,000 to 38,000.
Even thousands westbound, odd east.
Private jets can go up to 45,000
Military will go as high as 60,000, except for the odd exception that will go to "classified"

Answer 2

It depends on the direction of travel, & the distance to be flown. Most of the commercial jetliners cruise in the High level airspace that starts at FL-180, or 18,000 ft above sea level.
But if the distance that the airliner is going to travel between departure & destination is less than 160 nautical miles then it will cruise at a lower altitude than FL-180.
Also if the aircrafts heading is to be generally an eastbound heading then it will travel at an altitude that is an odd number. eg: 15,000 ft ASL, or 17,000 ft ASL. If the direction is to be a westerly heading then it would be an altitude having an even number such as 14,000 ft ASL, or 16,000 ft ASL. That is considering that the flight is being conducted under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) which most commercial operations are, especially the ones above FL-180.

I don't think it would be fair to say that there is an "average" cruising altitude for commercial flights overall, since there are so many factors to consider, such as distance the flight is to travel, the direction of travel, as well as traffic congestion, but above all, safety.

Answer 3

FL280 to FL410. Above FL 290, the alitiude seperation was 2000 feet. That chanced earlter this year to only 1000 feet.

U-2 and the SR 71 operate 80,000 feet.

Answer 4

I would say in the range of 35,000 ft give take a couple of thousand. It all depends on where they are going and the winds.

Answer 5

35,000 ft +/- 5,000 ft for long haul, and less for short haul

Military can be LOTS higher...

Answer 6

35000 ft

Answer 7

26000 to 36000 feet