Although they blow from west to east, their flow often shifts to the south and north. Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the West to the East across the Atlantic. Travel + Leisure likens it to trying to walk against a strong wind. (Beginner), What's the difference between astronomy and astrology? Direct Flights from the USA to East Africa . (Intermediate), At what speed does the Earth move around the Sun? Copyright © 1997 - Compare most flight schedules and you will see the return leg of an eastbound flight is longer than the outbound. So, from a purely logical standpoint, the travel from east to west should take less time, since we’re in a plane that’s flying towards west, which means that the destination is actually spinning towards us (due to Earth’s rotation). When an airplane takes off from a specific point on Earth, it’s already travelling at the rotational speed of Earth at that point. He likes Harry Potter and the Avengers, and obsesses over how thoroughly Science dictates every aspect of life… in this universe, at least. What Are The Most Expensive Liquids In The World? document.write(new Date().getFullYear()); Why Is Engine Power Measured In ‘Horsepower’? (Beginner), When was the last time all of the planets were aligned? You are saying that you think west to east takes LONGER. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the West to the East across the Atlantic. Her research lately has focused on using the morphology of galaxies to give clues to their formation and evolution. In commercial aviation there’s no flight number quite as prestigious as flight 1. (Beginner), How do we know the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy? There are many factors influencing flight duration, but in general, you will always notice westbound flights scheduled to take longer. Earth is spherical… mostly. Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox. If you travel from New York to London, it will take around 6 hours, but when you travel from London to New York, it invariably takes significantly longer. The Earth is also rotating. Highly idealized depiction of the global circulation. You are 3 minutes of reading away from knowing something new. Great chance to travel between East Coast and West Coast on a budget! If you are an aviation enthusiast or a frequent traveler (or even a not-so-frequent-but-ever-so-inquisitive traveler), you would have noticed this one thing: Airplanes fly faster when going East as compared to the going West. The … The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomena known as the jet stream. Fly nonstop from the East Coast to the West Coast or vice-versa for $197 roundtrip (or less) on multiple airlines like JetBlue, Alaska, American, and Delta.. New York - California routes are available for travel on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, starting next week through April 10. East-west travel in temperate latitudes is dominated by the jet stream; this is what this question is fundamentally about. Just type in your perfect travel dates now to see the best deals on flights in West Coast. The first two answers sound good, but it's not right. Getting to the point faster: It is because of Jet Streams! ... why the sun’s light moves from east to west. Different rotational speeds at different locations. (Beginner), If I were hypothetically wearing a spacesuit and sitting on one of the Voyager space probes at their current positions in space, how much light would I have? The reason why flights take a shorter time to move from east to west is because of the air currents commonly known as jet streams. Why Is It So Special? Since, the time available to cover a complete rotation is fixed (i.e., 24 hours), places on the Equator must rotate faster in order to complete one rotation every 24 hours. … Why Should We Build A Lunar Base Station. All of the global wind patterns are illustrated in the below diagram taken from the Harvard Equable Climate Dynamics Website. As an example, consider two hypothetical flights at 30,000 feet with the winds shown below: With these winds a flight from A to B (East-to-West) will be fighting headwinds the whole way. On the Earth the equator gets much more Sun than the poles. Most of us are graduate students at Cornell, and all of us do this voluntarily, in our own time, fitting it in around our other work. Jet streams are air pockets high up in the Earth's atmosphere which move in a wavy pattern from west to east. (Beginner), Can we find the place where the Big Bang happened? (Intermediate), What do I need to do to become an astronomer? we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously, What is Radioactivity and Is It Always Harmful: Explained in Simple Words. The fastest direct flight from East Coast to West Coast is 3 hours 2 minutes. Can you please tell me what factors cause airplane times to differ between travels to east and to west. (Beginner), What is the significance of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle? In addition crossing the Pacific to the USA is a very long flight and would have been too far to contemplate. (Intermediate), Is the Moon moving away from the Earth? The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the world’s oceans. Why is that? So for an aeroplane to get anywhere at all, it … The rotational velocity of Earth decreases as one goes from the Equator to the poles. West Coast to East Coast flight duration. She is the Project Scientist for the Galaxy Zoo project. Why Do Dogs Like Sticking Their Heads Out Of Car Windows? (Intermediate), How are light and heavy elements formed? A place on the Equator will experience higher rotational velocity due to the fact that it has to cover the longest distance (because its movement will be along Earth’s circumference) within 24 hours, i.e., the length of a day. Coefficient Of Restitution: Definition, Explanation And Formula, Circle Of Willis: Anatomy, Diagram And Functions. Which routes carry flight number 1 and why? That’s why different places on Earth experience different rotational velocities. Ever wondered why your flight heading east was so much faster than ... earth's rotation in order to understand its impact on air travel. My handy flight planning program tells me that at 500 knots (airspeed) you'd be in the air for about 5 hours 30 minutes. The prevailing winds travel west to east, and so does the gulf stream (west/east. (Intermediate), What's going to happen on December 21st 2012? resulting in warmer air at the equator than the poles and creating circulation cells (or "Hadley Cells") which consist of warm air rising over the equator and then moving North and South from it and back round. (Beginner), (Intermediate) >" onclick="window.open(this.href,'win2','status=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,width=640,height=480,directories=no,location=no'); return false;" rel="nofollow">, Why can't a plane fly slowly and let the Earth pass underneath? Why Different Countries Have Different Standard Voltages? While Earth itself is spinning about 1,180 km/h to the east, the ground and everything on it are travelling even faster - at about 1,670 km/h (1,037 mph). Likewise, a flight from London to Hong Kon… They flew west to the UK and east back because at the time there were far more opportunities to refuel in Empire influenced countries so it was easier. It's interesting that you ask this - I am directly experiencing it right now as I sit on an airplane from the UK. This is why the crude logic that traveling west in an airplane ought to take less time because ‘the destination spins towards the plane’ doesn’t hold up. You might think it was a safety issue. The upper-level jets tend to flow latitudinally along the cell boundaries. The speed of these winds can be as high as 200 mph (321 kmph) and they help regulate climate all over the world. More specifically, these are relatively narrow bands of strong winds that blow in the upper levels of the atmosphere. (Intermediate), What makes certain lunar eclipses so special? (Beginner), How long does it take for the Sun's light to reach us? A distance of 1,217 miles / 1,959 km. Gravitational Lensing: What It Is And How It Is Helping Us Discover New Galaxies, What Exactly is Archimedes Principle: Explained in Simple Words, What is Evolution? Even the air above the ground is travelling at around this speed in an easterly direction. When was this discovered? (Intermediate), Why do the planets orbit the sun? (Beginner), How far is each planet from Earth? (Intermediate), What color is each planet? When any solid body rotates, bits of it that are nearer its axis move slower than those which are further away. (Beginner), What happened to the Arecibo Telescope? Does Your Weight Vary In Different Cities In The World? A plane’s flight time is affected by Earth’s rotation. As you move north (or south) from the equator, you are moving closer to the axis of the Earth and so the air which started at the equator and moved north (or south) will be moving faster than the ground it is over (it has the rotation speed of the ground at the equator, not the ground which is is now over). (Intermediate), How do you measure the distance between Earth and the Sun? Every planet/moon has global wind that are mostly determined by the way the planet/moon rotates and how evenly the Sun illuminates it. Twitter:  @KarenLMasters Website:  http://icg.port.ac.uk/~mastersk/, We have 1936 guests and no members online. How Big Is It and Does It Bite? (Beginner), Why is looking out into space the same as looking back in time? Please take the time to browse our site and first try to use the resources online to find an answer to your question. Therefore, the net result remains the same, because the plane always has a relative velocity with respect to Earth’s rotation. Now that you know this, read on. Can a Coin Placed on the Tracks Derail a Train? If air currents had any affect on flight (there probably is some), flying west to east with the wind at your back would actually take LESS time. However, the Coriolis effect, caused by the rotation of the earth, causes winds to move right, in the direction of motion, in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern, making the wind blow east. Answer 1 of 78: I apologize if this is a silly question but Google didn't give me a straight answer and I know there are some Air Travel experts on this forum . A Simple and Brief Explanation, What is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: Explained in Simple Words. (Intermediate), How does the location of sunrise and sunset change throughout the year? (Advanced), Do galaxy mergers have a major impact on star formation rates within the galaxies? Sheepshead Fish: Facts About The Fish With Human Teeth. Ashish is a Science graduate (Bachelor of Science) from Punjabi University (India). Flights with these jet streams on their tails take less time to reach their destination than those facing these winds head on. (Beginner), How does the position of Moonrise and Moonset change? If The Stomach Adds Acid To Digest Food, Why Isn’t Our Poop Acidic? Airline pilots navigate into these tunnel-like air patterns, which helps the plane take advantage of the fast-blowing winds, saving both time and fuel (and by extension, money). It takes 14.5 hours. Check out my different travel tips guides below for my personal recommendations on travel planning, flight and hotel searching, packing tips, favorite gear/photography accessories and more! The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomena known as the jet stream. Do you know the reason behind that? So actually, the Earth's rotation really makes flying from east to west slower. Asia - Flying to Inida from West Coast US -- east or west? (Advanced), Which planet is most similar to Earth? It took 5 hours to go West-East on this journey, but is taking about 7 East-West. (Beginner), Why is Earth's core molten? (Intermediate), What is the universe expanding into? Why do airlines avoid the Pacific Ocean? The real reason flights from west to east are quicker is down to jet streams. Furthermore, Earth rotates from West to East. Ask an Astronomer is run by volunteers in the Astronomy Department at Cornell University. Read More (Beginner), Are there telescopes that can see the flag and lunar rover on the Moon? When they fly from the east to the west, they try to plan their flight so the jet stream isn’t blowing against their airplane and giving them a bad headwind. If airplanes fly east, they will be able to access these currents and fly with a tailwind. It … Kenya's national carrier offers a direct daily flight between New York (JFK) and Nairobi (NBO), leaving at 12:55 local time and arriving at 10:25 the following day. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the West-East direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction. - Hi all, I have a tentative reservation to fly Cathay Pacific to India from the US west coast through Hong Kong. Why Can Pencil Be Easily Erased Off A Paper, But Ink Can’t? He spends a lot of time watching movies, and an awful lot more time discussing them. Choose any of the cities you like most and don’t hesitate to book your cheap tickets. MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - If you plan on leaving on a jet plane this holiday season, you might be surprised to learn that traveling east is faster than traveling west. (Beginner), What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off? Which airlines are flying to West Coast? H/T: The Flight … When it's time to finding flights to West Coast that fit your expectations and agenda, there's no reason to look further than our options right here. This results in winds which always move from the west to the east in the mid latitudes. What Is The Fibonacci Sequence? Due to Earth’s spherical shape, different parts of the planet rotate at different speeds. If I fly from NYC to LA, I don't go around the globe. However, in reality, that clearly doesn’t happen. But the route is often determined by the tail wind which is why it can take 14 hours to fly from LAX to Seoul, but only 12 hours coming back. Every moon or planet has global wind whose flow is determined by the way in which the ‘host’ planet/moon moves, and how evenly sunlight falls on it. (Beginner), What what a black hole merger look like from a telescope? How Does A Gas Station Store Enough Oil To Service Hundreds Of Automobiles Every Day? Find the quickest, average and longest flight duration from West Coast to East Coast as well as flight distances, flight routes, outbound and inbound airport information, check-in times and up to date live ticket pricing. Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as the American Express® Gold Card or Citi Prestige (3x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). There are 20 airlines you can travel with to West Coast, for example: Air New Zealand, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines. If there are strong winds, the eastbound tracks will be farther north to take advantage of them, while the westbound flights will be routed south to … (Beginner), How long could life on Earth survive if the Sun stopped shining? Average direct flight time is 3 hours 2 minutes. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the West-East direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.