6 ms·

4 hours combined with airport waits ends up becoming something like 6 hours right? Is there a big difference in practicality between 6 hours and 10 hours? Feel

by rtpg 9y ago

4 hours combined with airport waits ends up becoming something like 6 hours right? Is there a big difference in practicality between 6 hours and 10 hours? Feels like you still lose the day to travel for the most part.

dgudkov 9y ago
Yes, there is. If it's 6 hours you can make it two way for a meeting in one day without breaking your sleeping schedule. If it's 10 hours, you can't.
- pc86 9y ago
  You can if you sleep on the return flight (or sleep on the first flight and have time in your schedule to shower/change after you land). The advantage is not with when you sleep, it's with where. With 6 hour flights you can sleep in your bed at home. You can't do that with the 10 hour flights unless you break your sleep schedule.
Moto7451 9y ago
If you have your routine down, fly during the work week (most business travel), and have precheck you can pretty reliably have your wait down to 45 minutes. I fly a lot and usually breeze through the airport.
- rtpg 9y ago
  Is that possible for international flights? My impression is that you're kinda forced to get there super early. But maybe I'm doing this wrong. I'm also used to doing international flights from cities where the airport is super far away. For example Charles De Gaulle is still a 45 minute train ride away from a lot of useful stuff. DFW's a bit out there too. The dream is obstensibly Shinkansen-style "get there in the morning, leave in the evening and be back before bedtime" flows. Is that doable with smaller international flights already?
  - psergeant 9y ago
    Depends on the airport. 100% possible at LCY, which is also only 20m from Canary Wharf.
    - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
      It really does. I can reasonably go to Houston Hobby or Austin Bergstrom and with Precheck expect to be at the gate within 15 minutes of when I walked in the door (assuming no checked baggage). DFW or O'Hare or George Bush is an entirely different ballgame.
  - karthikb 9y ago
    SFO - less than 60 minutes from SOMA to seat with (1) precheck, (2) no check in bags.
- chrisseaton 9y ago
  Sometimes I go through the airport in 45 minutes or even a lot less, but I still get there three hours early because the risk of not getting through in 45 minutes, and the problems it causes if I don't, are too great. Getting through in 45 minutes four times out of five doesn't help me if I miss my flight and all my travel plans are ruined the other one time out of five.
  - timthelion 9y ago
    I think that there should be city center terminals at which you do check in. Then a bus would take you to the airport. The terminals could be nice, with free breakfast, and you'd sit down at a table with your laptop after going through check in. And when the bus came, you'd get on it stress free. If an airline did this, they could save a lot of passenger time and stress and it would probably be cheaper and better for the environment then faster planes.
    - chrisseaton 9y ago
      And the idea is all the passengers would be on the bus so they would delay departure if the bus was delayed? I don't think it would help much to put the check-in in the city centre though - getting into a city centre is just as prone to delay as getting to an airport, and I'd still need to leave hours for that possibility.
      - timthelion 9y ago
        Yes, all passengers would be on the buses and if a bus was delayed they would delay the plane. Oops, I forgot that in the US you don't have subways. Here in Europe, there are never, ever, delays going to the city center.
        chrisseaton 9y ago
        I’m British, but I still wouldn’t bet thousands of pounds worth of travel plans on absolutely being able to get into London without delay.
- nunez 9y ago
  I usually get into the airport a few minutes before boarding. My emplacement process is usually ~20-25 minutes with no wait.
rorykoehler 9y ago
I fly internationally regularly for work. I get to the airport early have a coffee and get some work in. Then on the plane i connect to the wifi and continue to work. This way i don't lose any time. It's just a regular work day except I've crossed a sea and continent.
- alex_young 9y ago
  Are you arguing for or against the viability of this idea? I genuinely cannot tell.
  - rorykoehler 9y ago
    I'm giving another perspective to inter-continental air travel and the idea that travel time is lost time. To clarify I'd take a shorter flight if available purely for my spinal health but it's possible to make international travel work. Timezones are a bigger concern than travel time.
dx034 9y ago
Yes, a big difference. Currently, if you're based in London and have meetings in NYC you can fly out in the morning and take the evening flight back but won't be at home for the night. With a 4 hour flight (preferably out of London City where you can arrive 25 min before departure) you can fly out in the morning and be back at night. That way they can at least get some time to spend with their families. Some people would spend a lot of money for that.
- achamayou 9y ago
  LCY has a short runway and particularly strict noise limits, it’s not especially obvious that fast aircraft would be able to operate from it.
  - pasta 9y ago
    When an aircraft is fast in the air it doesn't mean it has to be fast at the runway. For example the takeoff and landing speed of a F16 is almost the same as any other commercial plane (~270 km/h).
    - dzhiurgis 9y ago
      You are comparing apples to oranges. Takeoff speed of similarly sized plane to F16, Cessna is around 100km/h. Concorde's take off speed was 400 km/h. Delta wings don't have same amount of lift, hence higher speeds.
      - pasta 9y ago
        I was only replying to the fact that you cannot tell by top speed what runway is needed and what sound it makes.
      - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
        Similar? The F16 is about twice as long (49 feet / 15 meters) a Cessna (28 feet / 8.3 meters) and weights about 8.5 times as much unloaded: Cessna 2200lb / 1000kg and the F16 18,900lb / 8,570kg.

by rtpg 9y ago

dgudkov 9y ago

Yes, there is. If it's 6 hours you can make it two way for a meeting in one day without breaking your sleeping schedule. If it's 10 hours, you can't.

pc86 9y ago
You can if you sleep on the return flight (or sleep on the first flight and have time in your schedule to shower/change after you land). The advantage is not with when you sleep, it's with where. With 6 hour flights you can sleep in your bed at home. You can't do that with the 10 hour flights unless you break your sleep schedule.

Moto7451 9y ago

If you have your routine down, fly during the work week (most business travel), and have precheck you can pretty reliably have your wait down to 45 minutes. I fly a lot and usually breeze through the airport.

rtpg 9y ago
Is that possible for international flights? My impression is that you're kinda forced to get there super early. But maybe I'm doing this wrong. I'm also used to doing international flights from cities where the airport is super far away. For example Charles De Gaulle is still a 45 minute train ride away from a lot of useful stuff. DFW's a bit out there too. The dream is obstensibly Shinkansen-style "get there in the morning, leave in the evening and be back before bedtime" flows. Is that doable with smaller international flights already?
- psergeant 9y ago
  Depends on the airport. 100% possible at LCY, which is also only 20m from Canary Wharf.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
    It really does. I can reasonably go to Houston Hobby or Austin Bergstrom and with Precheck expect to be at the gate within 15 minutes of when I walked in the door (assuming no checked baggage). DFW or O'Hare or George Bush is an entirely different ballgame.
- karthikb 9y ago
  SFO - less than 60 minutes from SOMA to seat with (1) precheck, (2) no check in bags.
chrisseaton 9y ago
Sometimes I go through the airport in 45 minutes or even a lot less, but I still get there three hours early because the risk of not getting through in 45 minutes, and the problems it causes if I don't, are too great. Getting through in 45 minutes four times out of five doesn't help me if I miss my flight and all my travel plans are ruined the other one time out of five.
- timthelion 9y ago
  I think that there should be city center terminals at which you do check in. Then a bus would take you to the airport. The terminals could be nice, with free breakfast, and you'd sit down at a table with your laptop after going through check in. And when the bus came, you'd get on it stress free. If an airline did this, they could save a lot of passenger time and stress and it would probably be cheaper and better for the environment then faster planes.
  - chrisseaton 9y ago
    And the idea is all the passengers would be on the bus so they would delay departure if the bus was delayed? I don't think it would help much to put the check-in in the city centre though - getting into a city centre is just as prone to delay as getting to an airport, and I'd still need to leave hours for that possibility.
    - timthelion 9y ago
      Yes, all passengers would be on the buses and if a bus was delayed they would delay the plane. Oops, I forgot that in the US you don't have subways. Here in Europe, there are never, ever, delays going to the city center.
      - chrisseaton 9y ago
        I’m British, but I still wouldn’t bet thousands of pounds worth of travel plans on absolutely being able to get into London without delay.
nunez 9y ago
I usually get into the airport a few minutes before boarding. My emplacement process is usually ~20-25 minutes with no wait.

rorykoehler 9y ago

I fly internationally regularly for work. I get to the airport early have a coffee and get some work in. Then on the plane i connect to the wifi and continue to work. This way i don't lose any time. It's just a regular work day except I've crossed a sea and continent.

alex_young 9y ago
Are you arguing for or against the viability of this idea? I genuinely cannot tell.
- rorykoehler 9y ago
  I'm giving another perspective to inter-continental air travel and the idea that travel time is lost time. To clarify I'd take a shorter flight if available purely for my spinal health but it's possible to make international travel work. Timezones are a bigger concern than travel time.

dx034 9y ago

Yes, a big difference. Currently, if you're based in London and have meetings in NYC you can fly out in the morning and take the evening flight back but won't be at home for the night. With a 4 hour flight (preferably out of London City where you can arrive 25 min before departure) you can fly out in the morning and be back at night. That way they can at least get some time to spend with their families. Some people would spend a lot of money for that.

achamayou 9y ago
LCY has a short runway and particularly strict noise limits, it’s not especially obvious that fast aircraft would be able to operate from it.
- pasta 9y ago
  When an aircraft is fast in the air it doesn't mean it has to be fast at the runway. For example the takeoff and landing speed of a F16 is almost the same as any other commercial plane (~270 km/h).
  - dzhiurgis 9y ago
    You are comparing apples to oranges. Takeoff speed of similarly sized plane to F16, Cessna is around 100km/h. Concorde's take off speed was 400 km/h. Delta wings don't have same amount of lift, hence higher speeds.
    - pasta 9y ago
      I was only replying to the fact that you cannot tell by top speed what runway is needed and what sound it makes.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
      Similar? The F16 is about twice as long (49 feet / 15 meters) a Cessna (28 feet / 8.3 meters) and weights about 8.5 times as much unloaded: Cessna 2200lb / 1000kg and the F16 18,900lb / 8,570kg.