Need help to settle a light hearted argument with my partner...

Our flight from London was 10 hours - on way back from BKK was 12 hours ...

Is it just down to perhaps flying into a head wind ? nothing to do with the world actually spinning ?

You are flying uphill on the way back, on the way here its downhill.

Pilots are always in a hurry to get to Soi Cowboy. Not so much of a hurry to get anywhere in London- especially back to the wife....

Edited April 25, 201412 yr by impulse

Headwind

It seem's longer because you are coming to the U.K ;-)

Actually both, wind and indirectly rotation.

Can you please tell me what factors cause airplane times to differ between travels to east and to west.

It's interesting that you ask this - I am directly experiencing it right now as I sit on an airplane from the UK. It took 5 hours to go West-East on this journey, but is taking about 7 East-West. The reason for the difference is a atmospheric phenomena known as the jet stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the West to the East across the Atlantic. 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.

Every planet has global wind which are mostly determined by the way the planet rotates and how evenly the Sun illuminates it. On the Earth the equator gets much more Sun than the poles. 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.

The Earth is also rotating. When any solid body rotates, bits of it that are nearer its axis move slower than those which are further away. 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). This results in winds which always move from the west to the east in the mid latitudes.

One source here - Cornell university

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

Lada Riva 1200 with turbo

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

Magic carpet

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

My last EVA flight LHR-BKK was exactly 10 hours too.

Can't remember if scheduled for 10.5 or 11 hours but the pilot did say that we had a nice tailwind.

The earth is spinning

Edited April 25, 201412 yr by Theoutsider

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

motorised bong

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

My last EVA flight LHR-BKK was exactly 10 hours too.

Can't remember if scheduled for 10.5 or 11 hours but the pilot did say that we had a nice tailwind.

Just had quick look and Eva schedule 11 hours 15 mins so must have been hefty tailwind

Chivas, it might be the time of the year. My recent BHN - BKK flight only took 5 hours 50 when it usually takes over 6 1/2 hours. The trip back took 7 hours 20.

wow been a long time since i ever sat on such a long flight. My flight to the US took like 23 hours with a stop over in europe, denmark i think.

Just 'Google' Jet Stream ... and there is your answer ... okay

Was the op in a rush to get to his work place?

Flights get delayed all the time and who knows perhaps it takes 2 hours later to take off from the thai airport compared to the UK.

You weren't peddling fast enough on the way back.

One thing i think everyone missed out was on the argument OP had with his partner.

Suffice to say both of them had differing views on why the plane flight back to the UK took a longer time and i am willing to bet it had nothing to do with the jet stream and other such scientific theories.

Hey OP pls share with us what you and your partner's viewpoints were on the longer flight back.

The advertised flight time and actual flight time always seems to differ. The pilot will often say there is a tailwind so the flight is going to be shorter and vice versa. Noted the above about the jetstream but as far as I know the jetstream moves off towards northern Europe and doesn't influence conditions over India and on to Bangkok.

@ultimate weapon: what an utter BS, very poor.

--------

Checked yesterdays flights (25 APR), two of which have landed already.

(scheduled dep. actual dep., scheduled arr., actual arr.)

LHR - BKK

TG 911 12:30 PM 12:33 PM 6:05 AM 5:40 AM
BA 9 3:40 PM 3:40 PM 9:15 AM 9:06 AM

TG 11:07 h

BA 11:26 h

Scheduled time for both flights 11:35h.

Schedule time for the BKK LHR direction: 12:05h (less difference than I expected).

Completely expected due to the jetstreams.

Sorry, but I doubt the 10h flight duration.

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightSchedules/schedules.do

http://www.flightstats.com/go/Home/home.do

My worst flight was Bangkok - Warsaw 12:20! for a much shorter distance.

Flight speed went down to 7xx km/h due to the strong headwinds.

Quickest flight was Munich - Bangkok, 9:30h, 747 reaching up to 1000 km/h.

And: some flights back to LHR might simply be late/longer due to traffic congestion at LHR?

On the other hand, I compared TG flight Bankok to Munich (daytime flight, 25 APR):

departed 15 min late, landed 44 min late.

Absolutely no traffic congestion at Munich in the late evening.

So really winds seem to be bad at the moment.

Edited April 26, 201412 yr by KhunBENQ

The advertised flight time and actual flight time always seems to differ. The pilot will often say there is a tailwind so the flight is going to be shorter and vice versa. Noted the above about the jetstream but as far as I know the jetstream moves off towards northern Europe and doesn't influence conditions over India and on to Bangkok.

Currently it is very far south and does influence these routes.

Graphics can be found on http://www.wunderground.com/maps/a2/JetStream.html

Not very stong, but exactly on the main flight route:

Edited April 26, 201412 yr by KhunBENQ

Which Motor got you from UK to Thailand in 10 hours..........??

The NASA-6000

The reason for the difference is a atmospheric phenomena known as the jet stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the West to the East across the Atlantic. 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.

Headwind

+1...correct answer....also could be a delay in getting clearance to land and they 'stack up' the planes.

Coming to LOS you were in a 747, going back you were in a Tiger Moth; that's all Thai Airways can afford these days !

Aliens abducted you for those extra 2 hours though you can't remember it. It explains why your arse is a little sorer when you got back to the uk. It wasn't the lady boy you met on your trip. It was the aliens anal probe

Edited April 26, 201412 yr by samran

Personally, I am always glad that when we fly we actually get to our destination,

OP...Now the argument has been settled, they say that make up sex is the best.....

Who wants to rush to England? ?? Not even the plane hey!!!! Whereas going to Bangkok/ Patts we are all in a hurry. In fact you can get a minibus limo to collect you from the Penthouse Hotel and there will be 2 little honeys inside to relieve your stress on the way back to Pattaya. Cold beer and blackouts on the windows. Well worth it. Lol.. just dont tell thejwife