What does "flight time" really mean?

[Warks]

I know there are scheduled times for flights and this would be from the scheduled departure to what I assume is scheduled arrival at the gate (when the door opens).

However when on a flight the FA or First Officer almost always gives a "flight time" which is always a lot less than these times and they seem to vary a lot. I assume this is meant to be the time from take off to landing which eliminates the time to taxi and wait at either end. I'm guessing it doesn't take into account the time spent circling an airport waiting for a slot. I'm guessing it's also based on factors such as tail or headwinds.

An example yesterday on a TSV-SYD flight where the flight time was given as "two hours" but in effect was 2:45 without any apparent circling involved. I wonder what the value of announcing this number is.

Just curious. Nothing we can do about it of course!

 

[drewbles]

The scheduled time you'll see is typically push back to on-chocks at the other end, or 'gate to gate'. The actual flight time is 'wheels up' to 'wheels down' ie when you get airborne until you touch down on the runway at the other end.

It's possible that the pilot read something incorrectly over the PA as TSV-SYD would not be 2 hours, it's only slightly under that for BNE-TSV (it's around 35% further from SYD than from BNE). I'm doing BNE-TSV this w/end and it's showing as 2 hours exactly scheduled time.

 

[simongr]

I do wonder also on the value of the announcement - frequently it gets announced and then something changes so that it is in fact wrong. Generally they announce that we are leaving late but should make up time with a shorter flight time and then come back with delays at ATC and we still end up being late.

 

[NM]

Flight Time, as mentioned by the flight crew or cabin crew, is what they expect to be the time from take-off to landing. Obviously this is subject to things like air traffic control.

 

[drewbles]

I do wonder also on the value of the announcement - frequently it gets announced and then something changes so that it is in fact wrong. Generally they announce that we are leaving late but should make up time with a shorter flight time and then come back with delays at ATC and we still end up being late.

It may be something to do with putting people at ease. There's more nervous flyers around than we realise Hearing 'This is your captain speaking' may be soothing to some, letting them know someone is up there and in control. I seldom pay attention to the announcements, as they tend to be nothing more than 'welcome aboard' blurb for me. If they come over the PA later in the flight I will listen, as it may be a delay, re-route or other.

 

[chrisb]

The flight time announcement is quite important on the Perth flights as there can be huge variations due to winds. (To the point that the flight will be held on the ground in Perth so it still arrives in SYD on time, particularly for the red eyes that might hit the curfew.)

 

[simongr]

How is it important to you though? Do you change pick ups if the flight time is different.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I do wonder also on the value of the announcement - frequently it gets announced and then something changes so that it is in fact wrong. Generally they announce that we are leaving late but should make up time with a shorter flight time and then come back with delays at ATC and we still end up being late.

Guess it depends where you are. For somewhere like China (to say PVG or NRT) flight schedules are heavily padded. Giving an actual flight time helps you advise people what time you are actually going to arrive. Also helps allay fears of missed connections etc when you are late departing the gate, but you know you will make it up with whatever the actual flying time is.

As a case in point, flights PVG-HKG are regularly delayed, often by a couple of hours. If you are leaving on an evening flight you can see every other flight that day might have left 60-90 mins late (from the gate) but all have a similar air time. Helps you plan arrivals, which form of ground transport you're going to end up taking (taxi vs Maglev or airport express) and so on.

 

[Warks]

Thanks all. Some clarification but you are right about it being some sort of feelgood thing. You know flying into SYD in peak time you are going to be damn lucky not to be circling the Hunter and then doing a Wollongong trip!

 

[drewbles]

Thanks all. Some clarification but you are right about it being some sort of feelgood thing. You know flying into SYD in peak time you are going to be damn lucky not to be circling the Hunter and then doing a Wollongong trip!

Or of course out of SYD to MEL or BNE in certain weather conditions when you end up using 34R to take off, or, the 'drive-fly' package

 

[Ewing]

Or of course out of SYD to MEL or BNE in certain weather conditions when you end up using 34R to take off, or, the 'drive-fly' package

Or flying to CBR and taking off from 34R. The taxi starts getting pretty close to "air time"

 

[serfty]

Or flying to CBR and taking off from 34R. The taxi starts getting pretty close to "air time"

Hah ... when that happens you feel yiou are somewhere around Fairbain before actually taking off ...

 

[dajop]

How is it important to you though? Do you change pick ups if the flight time is different.

Actually, from SIN-MEL I do send a msg through with flight time to whoever in my family might be picking me up. If it's a long flight, it can mean extra sleep for them! It can vary considerably I've done it in anything from just over 6 hours to almost 7 hours. Other than that, it's just a nice piece of trivia to hear of.

 

[chrisb]

Other than that, it's just a nice piece of trivia to hear of.

Like the altitude we'll be flying at. It fairly much means nothing unless you happen to have been studying the local meteorology.

 

[v8Statesman]

Like the altitude we'll be flying at. It fairly much means nothing unless you happen to have been studying the local meteorology.

And that changes in flight. Specifically on long haul flights.


Sent from my Telstra iPhone using the Australian Frequent Flyer application.

 

[AlexH]

Flight Time, as mentioned by the flight crew or cabin crew, is what they expect to be the time from take-off to landing. Obviously this is subject to things like air traffic control.

Also it is Estamated Time or ETA