Return Flight Time Differences West To East

[Prudie]

Can anyone explain the reason why standard stated flight times are always much longer travelling East to West than the other leg. I understand about weather impact and route variations but in general the flight time is always much longer travelling East to West than it is the other way even though the flightpath is the same.

[THECORBYLOON]

BHG, I was giving that example for KARL to show his suggestion was wrong.

[THECORBYLOON]

It's an argument flat-earth folk use, they ask if the earth is rotating, why can a helicopter not just hover and the earth move beneath it?

[ToraToraTora]

the earth's rotation has no effect on flight BHG. Speed is relative to a fixed point relative to the item being measured.

[ToraToraTora]

if you are in a train doing 100mph and you jump up the train does not move under you does it? It's because you are also doing a 100mph when you jump.

[Old_Geezer]

I reckon a helicopter can, but first it has to lose the speed it's already picked up by being on the surface of a spinning globe. Difficult given the atmosphere will also be moving at much the same rate, the helicopter will probably need to keep expending energy to counter that in order to stay at what it's pilot deems as being still.

[ToraToraTora]

very similar to the vertical cannon experiment:

[KARL]

Hands up, I read the question in reverse (must pay better attention) - and the jetstream (thermally driven) does go west to east (knew that) so favours that direction of flight. Although the atmosphere is rotated by the Earth's surface, that effect lessens the higher you go and therefore in some way acts as drag but presumably insignificant in comparison to the jeststream.

[KARL]

I suddenly have a sense of deja vue - has essentially this same question been brought up on AB before ?

[douglas9401]

Didn't Tim Vine copyright 'The Jeststream'?

[CrapAtCryptics]

maybe its because its downhill

[Prudie]

The one about jumping in the air on a train and do you move and its variations has definitely. This one I'm not sure, I was expecting an answer from frequent flyers or pilots rather than scientific ones. I get the westerly winds over the Atlantic bit but the winds are not always westerly. I'm going to assume the jet stream is the correct answer unless someone suggests anything better.

[237SJ]

Sorry but I don;t get why you don't think the prevailing wind (jetstream) is not the cause of faster flight times from west to east. Google prevailing winds in the middle latitude.

[Prudie]

237 sorry but I have agreed all along more than once why prevailing westerly winds cause faster flight times when travelling across the Atlantic as you mentioned. I wouldn't even need to ask that as it happens. Are you telling me that wherever you are in the world the wind only blows West? Of course it doesn't. I was actually hoping you of all Abers would be the one with the answer.

[sanmac]

Some info here: https://blog.privatefly.com/how-does-the-jet-stream-affect-my-flight-time

[jno]

if the prevailing wind is from the west, that's where it will mostly blow from. Sure, you may ride on tailwinds going in another direction, in which case you'll arrive early. But that's not how an airline will calculate its standard flight times.

[bednobs]

there is more than one jetstream!

[Prudie]

Yes yes but if you are coming from somewhere East of here the prevailing winds are not always from the West, especially nearer the equator. In the tropics the trade winds are predominately from the East but as an example London to Singapore average flight time 13 hours, back the other way it's 14 and much of that route would have an easterly tail boost but still takes that much longer.

[douglas9401]

But there's only Guantanamera.

[bednobs]

"East of here the prevailing winds are not always from the West"
i dont get that - the earth is a sphere!

[Prudie]

Well said Douglas, let's call the whole thing off