Anyone flying from North America to Europe or Asia these days finds themselves back on the ground faster than usual. This is associated with a strong jet stream over the Atlantic Ocean, which gives the plane a big boost.
A United Airlines Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 flew from New Jersey (US) to New Delhi (India) yesterday at a speed of 1,239 km/h (669 knots), reports Flightradar24.nl. This is 300 kmph faster than the typical speed of this type of aircraft According to Schiphol it is 907 km/h.
Passengers of the flight in question arrived in India much earlier than planned via the Jet Stream, flying over Spain, Italy and Greece, among others. Their flight took off from New Jersey 6 minutes early but landed in New Delhi 58 minutes ahead of schedule.
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Flights to Schiphol also benefited from the jet stream, as shown by the arrival times of flights from New York to Schiphol. The speed of This KLM flight during Cyclone Ciara (in 2020) was not achieved, but passengers arrived half to an hour earlier in the Netherlands (see image below)
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But not only did flights from New York land in Schiphol (much earlier), for example, the travel time of passengers from Toronto (Canada) and Mexico City was much shorter than usual due to the jet stream. Outlier Aeromexico flight AM25: It landed at Schiphol an hour ahead of schedule.
KLM
KLM spokesman Jerry Brand confirms that flights from North America benefit from Jet Stream. “Safety is the starting point when determining flight paths. Then we look at weather, for example.”
To fly as economically as possible, airlines between North America and the United States use sustainable routes that make the most of the wind,” says Brandt.
“This usually makes a difference of about an hour in travel time to and from Amsterdam. During this time, the tailwind is really strong, making flights from North America to Europe shorter.”
The planes arrived today
Airplanes today also benefit from wind. A Delta Airlines flight from New York landed an hour earlier than scheduled this morning. Air Canada flight AC 808, from Toronto to Schiphol, achieved a 78-minute time gain with Jet Stream. The flight landed at 9:22 and the expected time was 10:40.
