airline timetables?

Question

how do aircraft keep to time schedules,you cant rely on winds ,storms etc,butmost of the time always on schedule

Answer 1

If there is a delay, which inevitably will happen in an airline, the pilots will try to accomodate for it by flying low and fast for example. Sometimes delays happen and they can't be avoided, like the JetBlue incident on Valentine's day weekend. Airplanes are designed to fly through storms, and sometimes headwinds slow a plane down, increasing the flight time if more thrust is not applied, or tailwinds, which push the plane forward faster. I always think of the time tables to be more of a general period of time when I can expect the airplane to arrive or land instead of being exact, because more often than not, it's usually not right on time, but pretty darn close.

Answer 2

There are a couple of good answers above. We do try and fly faster or get some shortcuts to shorten our flight time. The airlines also build the schedules based on what are called "historical block times." These times are based on what has actually happened on that route of flight in the past. This is why flight times are usually longer in the winter in the northern areas of the country than in the summer. They have to factor in possible deice conditions and also stronger jet streams. When an airline starts a new route, they will try and estimate what the flight time will be. They may be a little off but it should be close. Then as they get more experience flying that route, they will adjust the times to better reflect what has actually been happening.

Answer 3

Actually, we can count on winds and storms pretty well.
We receive very detailed weather info from flight service stations, which allows us to plan very fine details of the flight, including what altitude to fly due to the direction and speed of winds at different altitudes.
We calculate out fuel burn and wind corrections angles for the flight, and what speed we will be flying.
We file a flight plan with the flight service station and tell them what navigational aids and instrument procedures we will be using, and how fast we will be flying.
Whether or not we have a tail wind, we fly the same speed because we have to to maintain spacing. ATC will request you to slow down if you are going too fast, or you may end up in a hold until the aircraft in front of you has completed a procedure.
We have alot more control over flight conditions than you think, and the airline itself has no control. The pilot and ATC are completely responsible for everything after the plane leaves the gate.

Answer 4

There are a few reasons. The previous posts with the captain flying faster helps. Also on one of our flights that was delayed really badly (4 hour delay), the captain not only flew faster, but he also was able to change the flight path so the flight distance between our cities was somehow reduced. He did come over the loudspeaker to say that he has exhausted all the short-cuts allowed to get us to our destination faster.

Also if you look at the airline's timetable as to how long the flight will be, they buffer in some time especially to airports known to have delays. For example a flight from Cincinnati, Ohio to Newark, New Jersey does not take 2 hours but the airlines know that at Newark the flights are usually running late so they add a buffer.

Answer 5

Pilots attempt to make up extra time by flying faster and ground crews attempt to turn the aircraft around faster, but airlines do allow extra time between flights for delays.