Most frequent travelers, including no doubt, most Consumer Traveler readers, know to confirm whether their flight, or whether a flight they are meeting, has left on time. However, as we head into the fall and winter season, it’s not enough to confirm when the flight in question is leaving, but when it is arriving.
Witness these two flights Monday.
United flight 6, from San Francisco to JFK, scheduled from 7:20 a.m. to 4:04 p.m. left on time, no problem. It arrived into Kennedy airport at 3:04 p.m. — ONE HOUR early — because of tailwinds.
While in general landing that early is a good thing. I have to wonder, how many people who were being met at the airport ended up sitting around cooling their heels waiting. Now, mind you, most car and limo services verify flight arrival times, but friends and relatives may not; especially if they just checked that the plane had an on-time departure.
On the other hand, for planes flying west, the news was not so good. American flight 59, scheduled from JFK to San Francisco at 7:05 a.m., scheduled to arrive at 10:30 a.m., left two minutes early. It still ended up arriving 25 minutes late due to headwinds.
In fact, headwinds this time of year are also a good reason to make sure you have plenty of connecting time for westbound flights. Headwinds are even more important when connecting to a transpacific flight from the West Coast. Otherwise a 20 to 30 minute delay could mean a whole day’s delay.
Winds can be a factor any time of year, but tend to be much stronger in the fall and winter. Although, they don’t affect all planes equally. Air traffic can make a difference, some flights may be able to fly alternate routes or altitudes, and the winds can change.
In addition, even when wind isn’t a factor, there are other factors that can affect a plane’s arrival time once airborne, usually for the worse — the aforementioned air traffic, weather that might require a plane to take a longer than usual route, fog or some other condition on arrival that backs up landings.
In any case, it’s worth a phone call or checking online. The time you save will be your own.
Photo: strottrot on flickr/creative commons.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
