Does it take 2.5 or 3 hours to fly from NY to Disney?

[frannn]

I ask because the flight lengths differ during the day for the same route. The earlier flights are about 2.5 hours, and the later ones are a few minutes short of 3 hours. Do the airlines list them that way to account for runway delays, etc, or does it really take longer to fly later in the day? I ask because we are trying to plan our first day, and wondering if the airline has a built in time delay "cushion".

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

The air time should be pretty consistent, but as you thought, they need to add more ground time into the schedule later in the day to account for more traffic (longer taxi out, longer taxi in).

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Times listed are not airtimes, they are the time from taxi to touchdown.

 

[DebbieB]

The times listed in the schedule are when the plane leaves the departure gate to the time the plane arrives at the destination gate. They do factor in more taxi time for busier times of the day.

 

[Lewisc]

I ask because the flight lengths differ during the day for the same route. The earlier flights are about 2.5 hours, and the later ones are a few minutes short of 3 hours. Do the airlines list them that way to account for runway delays, etc, or does it really take longer to fly later in the day? I ask because we are trying to plan our first day, and wondering if the airline has a built in time delay "cushion".

It's really not a "cushion" if the extra time reflects expected waiting time on the ground.

 

[rewok]

It also depends on the type of plane used. Even on the same airline/route, it can change due to expected passenger load at different time of day and on which route they'll re-use the plane after this flight.

 

[Brer Chump]

The airlines use as much cushion as they can because if a flight is late, it gets reported to the DOT as they keep statistics on carriers' On Time performance.

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp

 

[MAH4546]

Airlines do use a cushion, but airplanes also do fly faster during less congested times of the day when there are fewer planes in the air or when wind conditions are more favorable to speed.

 

[Tara]

I ask because the flight lengths differ during the day for the same route. The earlier flights are about 2.5 hours, and the later ones are a few minutes short of 3 hours. Do the airlines list them that way to account for runway delays, etc, or does it really take longer to fly later in the day? I ask because we are trying to plan our first day, and wondering if the airline has a built in time delay "cushion".

I would plan as if you are going to arrive on time, but not so tightly that if you are a little late you'll miss something important to you. IME, I've rarely been late going into Orlando - but I've more frequently been early. I think last time we landed about 25 minutes early,but 10 minutes of that was erased in the taxi to the gate.

But yes, they do expand departure to arrival times to account for delays on the ground. Not too long ago there was something on the news about a Continental flight from Newark to Dayton that had (at the time) the worst on-time percentage of any domestic flight. (delayed something like 92% or 96% of the time) The reporter flew on the flight to experience it first hand -- even after a bit more than an hour delay on the ground, the flight arrived in Dayton only a couple of minutes late, meaning the time was padded by an hour in order to help avoid having to file a delay.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Not too long ago there was something on the news about a Continental flight from Newark to Dayton that had (at the time) the worst on-time percentage of any domestic flight. (delayed something like 92% or 96% of the time) The reporter flew on the flight to experience it first hand -- even after a bit more than an hour delay on the ground, the flight arrived in Dayton only a couple of minutes late, meaning the time was padded by an hour in order to help avoid having to file a delay.

I HATE NEWARK...its one of the worst major airports that is used as a hub. Delays like crazy, what appears to be poor planning (allowing departing flights to leave on time, but preventing inbounds from landing), etc.

 

[crashbb]

EWR often has ground delays, which adds times to your flights. The airline, based on previous experience, clearly thinks that the ground delays will get longer as the day progresses - thus, the gate to landing time will also increase.

Also, are the planes the same? A smaller (less powerful) plane, will take slightly longer than a larger (more powerful) plane. For example, a flight from Toronto to Boston is scheduled as about 5 minutes longer on a CRJ than an E75. Not a huge difference, I know, but the flights are only about 90 minutes.