How annoyed would you be if you were sitting on a plane and watched another airline wiz
past you?
What if that other plane had left from the same airport and was going to the same destination
as you were?
This happens all of the time.
How do you make sure you are on the fast flight?
Watch this video because we’re about to tell you.
In busy airports there are always multiple flights headed to the same destination.
These flights are likely using the same type of plane, and might even be leaving at the
same time.
But if you look at when they arrive at their destination, the times can be wildly different.
Most people want to spend as little time as possible on the plane.
So, how do you decide which airline to go with to make sure you are on the fastest flight?
The first thing to consider is the company and it’s goal.
For example, some airlines are designed to be budget friendly like Spirit and Southwest.
There is nothing wrong with passengers saving money, as long as you know what you’re getting
yourself into.
Budget friendly airlines tend to charge extra fees for things that come standard on other
flights.
This includes checked bags or being able to choose a seat.
These airlines also may add extra rows to their aircraft resulting in less leg room,
so they can fit more passengers aboard.
This is where flight times between airlines begin to vary.
In order to keep costs down companies need to be as efficient as possible, this includes
how much fuel they use, and how quickly they burn through it.
Think of an airplane like a very fast car.
Like all automobiles there is also a sweet spot for plane engines where they will be
the most fuel efficient.
If you are driving 85 miles per hour down a highway your gas mileage will be a lot lower
than if you were driving 55 miles per hour.
This is because most car engines get their best gas mileage between 50 and 65 mile per
hour.
The question is what is the best speed for plane engines to run at in order to save the
airline money?
On average it is between 400 and 600 miles per hour for a commercial airliner.
However, there are several factors that will determine the precise speed at which the plane
engines are most fuel efficient.
Sometimes this is a slower speed than other airlines, which results in different flight
times.
Most airlines try to keep their planes flying at these optimum speeds to increase fuel efficiency
and decrease cost.
Once a plane reaches cruising altitude the airline will mandate certain speeds to make
sure that the plane is using as little fuel as possible.
However, in some situations a shorter flight time may be more important than fuel economy.
On average a budget friendly company will fly its planes at a slower speed to save on
fuel so they can maintain their cheap prices.
If you are planning a trip and you see multiple flights leaving at the same time for the same
destination, keep this in mind.
The amount of time it will take to actually land will be dependent on the airline company
and their policies.
There is another caveat to this though.
Airline companies may break their own fuel efficacy rules under certain circumstances.
If it is determined that it is more profitable to have flights arrive at the next airport
quicker so they can fly more flights per day, then plane speeds will increase.
If an airline can have multiple fully booked flights one right after the other, then getting
to the next destination faster at the expense of fuel efficiency, may be worth it.
This only works if the company can make sure that their flights are as full as possible.
It does not help an airline to fly faster to cram in empty flights.
When booking your next airline trip it may be worth taking into consideration the number
of flights each airline has per day.
The more flights the airline has booked for the day, the quicker they will try to get
from destination to destination.
This could end up shortening your flight time as the planes may be directed to fly faster.
Then again, there are certain airlines that break all of these rules to try and make your
flying experience as quick and enjoyable as possible.
Which airlines do this you may be wondering?
The very expensive ones.
Some airlines don't worry as much about fuel costs or how many flights they can get in
per day because their whole business model is based around luxury.
And with anything that is high end and geared towards the wealthy, these flights are really
expensive.
We are talking about airlines like Etihad Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Swiss International
Airlines.
Unless you are specifically searching for flights on these airlines, they normally won't
appear on budget friendly search engines like Kayak.com or Skyscanner.
This is because there is nothing budget friendly about them.
But if you want to be pampered on a plane flying faster than the others, these types
of airlines get the job done... for a steep price that is.
For the rest of us ordinary people there are some other tricks airlines use to decrease
flight times.
Sometimes airlines will have their planes fly at a lower altitude.
This allows them to fly a little faster.
The trade off is there is a greater chance of running into turbulent weather.
Flying at a lower altitude is done more easily when the plane is lighter, which brings us
to another reason that different flights going to the same destination may be flying at different
speeds.
It all has to do with weight.
The lighter an aircraft is, the faster it can fly while maintaining fuel efficiency.
If you are on a flight with less passengers the plane may be able to make it to its destination
faster.
This is because a lighter aircraft can use less fuel even if it's flying faster than
a full, heavy, plane flying at a slower speed.
With less passengers there is less luggage, and with less of both of these things the
plane is lighter.
This means that if you are trying to get to your destination as fast as possible, a less
packed flight may be the way to go.
Weight plays another important role in the duration of flight length.
Heavier planes will take longer to climb to their cruising altitude and top speed.
This means that these flight times are extended compared to a light plane that can reach its
optimum speed quicker.
You may not think about it as you are flying through the air, but the weight of the plane
you're on is actually changing over the course of your flight.
During a long journey a plane will carry out a maneuver called a “step climb.”
This is when a plane changes altitude several times over the course of a flight to allow
for faster speeds and more efficiency.
The reason this happens is that as the plane burns fuel it becomes lighter.
An airplane is always heavier at takeoff than it is when it lands.
Since the weight of the aircraft changes during the flight it means that the pilot needs to
adjust altitude and speed to compensate.
If done correctly the plane can increase its speed while maintaining fuel efficiency.
In the age of computers this is being calculated by navigation systems, allowing flights to
keep their fuel economy at optimum levels.
Although it is incredibly rare, some low budget airlines may use planes where the pilots themselves
need to calculate when to carry out the step climb, which leaves room for human error and
slower speeds.
Your best chance at catching a fast flight is by booking a partially filled plane on
an airline that flies a lot of routes.
That being said, there are always factors beyond your, and the airlines control, that
will affect flight speeds.
Weather plays a big role in the length of flights.
Sometimes planes need to be rerouted around developing storms.
Other times flights may need to increase their altitude, or decrease their speed due to weather
conditions.
In these circumstances there isn't much you as a passenger can do.
Once you've made an informed decision about the flight you booked and you're in the air,
everything else is out of your control.
It is also worth remembering that flight times to and from the same destination will almost
always be different.
This is true regardless of the airline you're flying with.
For example, if you are flying from Seattle, Washington to New York City your flight time
will be considerably shorter than someone who is flying the reverse route at the same
time.
This is because of the way wind currents move across our planet.
Due to the Earth's rotation, and a variety of other factors, wind currents move from
the Pacific Ocean, across the continental United States, and towards the Atlantic Ocean.
This means that during the flight from Seattle to New York City the wind currents are literally
pushing the plane along, allowing it to travel faster on less fuel.
When traveling the route from east to west the plane is fighting against the winds, which
creates drag, and slows the plane down.
More often than not when you fly somewhere you need to return back to where you started.
Unfortunately, this means one of your flights will most likely be longer than the other,
even if you are following the same route.
And if you really want to find the fastest way to travel via commercial airlines you
need to travel back in time, because the planes of today are no where near as fast as what
used to be flying the skyways.
Not too long ago you could catch a flight from the U.S. to Europe in under 3 hours.
Today the fastest commercial planes can barely make this journey in six hours.
This is because planes like the Concord used jet engines that could break the sound barrier
and reach speeds of up to Mach 2.04, which is about 1,350 miles per hour.
Today there are no commercial flights through major airline companies that come close to
these speeds.
This is mostly for safety reasons, but also because it is extremely expensive to fly that
fast.
Even though the planes of today could surpass 600 miles per hour if they needed to, things
get pretty dangerous as a plane approaches the speed of sound.
The turbulence at these speeds could literally tear the airplane apart, which would end up
tragically cutting your journey short.
If you are looking for a ride on the fastest plane in service today you would need to book
a flight on a 747-8 Intercontinental.
These planes can cruise at speeds of 660 miles per hour, which is approximately Mach 0.86.
This is a long way from reaching the speeds of past supersonic jets, but it is the fastest
commercial airliner that’s flying today.
And since the demand for faster planes isn't really prevalent, airline companies have no
incentive to invest in expensive new technology that would shorten flight times.
They don't even need to push their current planes to go faster because the average customer
does not complain about flight lengths.
Therefore, the airplane companies don't usually compete with one another to shorten their
flight times by flying faster.
So, other than airline goals, weight, technology, and weather it is the collective decision
of all passengers to not demand uniform, faster, flights.
These factors are what causes airlines to fly their planes at different speeds to maximize
profits.
Now watch “What Happens When a Bird Hits a Plane Engine?”
Or check out “Did Pan Am Flight 914 Really Land 37 Years Later.”