So what does our flight change of schedule really mean?
 

Our American/Iberia flight from JFK to Madrid next May was just changed. Instead of departing at 6 PM and arriving at 6:10 AM, it now departs at 5:55 PM and arrives at 7:10 AM. Now I realize this is no big deal, but the flight suddenly takes and hour and five minutes longer. Which of the following does that mean?

A) They are using slower planes.
B) They're flying slower to save fuel.
C) They're late so often they've padded an extra hour so they'll have a better "on time" record.

C

C ((b))

or D) - someone has woken up and realized that the time changes between now and next May, so that what is now 6:10 standard time will then be 7:10 daylight saving time. (The 5 minutes earlier departure could be just an internal airport runway slot matter).

Madrid will go on CEST on March 26. JFK does so on April 2. So the time zone offset doesn't change.

I like B) myself.

Did the type of aircraft change?

Is this a quiz???

Definitely someone at either Iberia or AA screwed up with the original arrivals time.

It should be 5:55p - 7:10a, for flight time of 7:15. The other IB flight, the DL and the Air Comet are all scheduled for 7:15.

No way can it make the 3,579mi trip in 6:15 scheduled time.

I agree with rkkwan, no way to cover over 3600 miles in 6 hours.

but here is the goofy part....

up to 5/15 AA is still showing 6:10 arrival:

<i>AMERICAN AIRLINES
OPERATED BY IBERIA 7612 JFK
New York 05/15/2006 05:55 PM MAD
Madrid 05/16/2006 06:10 AM 340 Economy 6hr15min</i>

and starting on 5/16 it shows -

<i>AMERICAN AIRLINES
OPERATED BY IBERIA 7612 JFK
New York 05/16/2006 05:55 PM MAD
Madrid 05/17/2006 07:10 AM 340 Economy
7hr15min</i>


can't explain this one.......

It takes them longer to serve you all that additional food?

It takes them longer because they have all that additional pasenger weight on board?

It takes them longer because of all that additional carry-on luggage your fellow passengers are trying to stow?

It takes them longer because they have the only plane that leaves at that particular time and they know you can't fly on another one at that point?

Ack, Robespierre, you are right - it is the last weekend in March, not April, that time changes in Spain, and the first weekend in April, not May, that the time changes in NA. Oh well, 'twas a nice theory while it lasted.....

AA and rkkwan have the simplest, and therefore possibly most correct theory - someone just plain goofed, period. Then again, maybe the speed of continental drift is scheduled to increase dramatically, and Madrid will be farther away by next May....

AAFF and rkk......plz shed some light on my itinerary for January...I cant find any evidence of any time changes so how come it takes almost 2 hours longer on the flight back?????
FLIGHT DATE SEGMENT DPTR ARVL MLS EQP ELPD MILES
1 CO 82 13JAN EWR DEL 850P 915P‡1
DS 777 13.55 7305
DEP-TERMINAL C ARR-TERMINAL 2
2 CO 83 20JAN DEL EWR 1145P 505A‡1 DS 777 15.50 7305
DEP-TERMINAL 2 ARR-TERMINAL C
Thanks...:D Stephen

Stphen it always takes longer returning to the US ..headwinds, I've been told.

Going eastward is always quicker. You fly with the winds when going eastward, againt the winds when flying westward.

On the average, a US-Europe flight is about an hour shorter then the same flight on the return.

oh, and I would like to correct my earlier statement.

It is possible to fly 3600 miles in 6 hours or even less, but no airline that I know of will schedule for anything less than 7 hours.

I have been on 747 flights from HKG-LAX that were going almost 700 mph. We caught good tailwinds and the big boy was just cruising. Last time we were almost 1.5 hours early. I was very disappointed. I was lucky enough to be in first on Cathay Pacific and I felt cheated. I wanted them to fly around for at least an hour more. :-D

On the other hand, some CX flights from US to HKG, especially in winter time when the winds are stronger, are forced to make a fuel stop in Taiwan. About 80-85% of the time the flights are non-stop.

Yo Stephen. You ought to have plenty of room outbound as that version of CO82 is showing J9 D9 Z0 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 O9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 S9 at the moment.

J9 D9 Z0 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 O9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 <i><b>S5</b></i> on the way back though. So could be a tad squished in the back. But maybe you copped one of those Z bucket jobbies. If so, good on ya.

Most likely you should put this on the Asia board, though.

Gate-to-gate times include all that pushback, taxi, climb to altitude, and slowing for descent. So yes, that 600mph is an <i>average</i> that includes something on the order of a half-hour of 7mph.

could it be that a decision has been made to fly at slower speeds to save fuel?

they are considering lowering speed limits here in spain, (rumor) to conserve gas..
just a thought.

Such decision could possibly, although unlikely have been made, but it still doesn't explain the 6 hour flight to Spain. No sane person would make such a schedule. It can't happen on a regular basis in commercial aviation.

It cannot be about fuel. It's a mistake. Period. End of that part of the discussion.

Planes are designed to fly at a particular speed that's most efficient. Not all planes fly the same speed. 747s are faster than 777/767 and 777/767 are faster than Airbuses. But that's in their design.

I think many who fly around the world a lot and whose main &quot;entertainment&quot; onboard is looking at the Airshow data, you'll find that some of the strongest jetstream (~100mph, over hurricane force) can be found between Taipei and Tokyo. In winter time, HKG-&gt;NRT can take about 3 hours, while NRT-&gt;HKG can be close to 5. Ground speed can be close to 700mph one way, &lt;500mph the other.

That's the path of many trans-Pacific flights, like CX's HKG-LAX. That's also why flights from the mid-west or east-coast go over the N. Pole to get to China/Hong Kong, even if it's not the shortest route.