3 ms·
> Of course, planes going the other direction will use extra, so overall we don't win Aren't some(all?) long-haul routes chosen on a flight by flight basis to
by logifail 8y ago
> Of course, planes going the other direction will use extra, so overall we don't win
Aren't some(all?) long-haul routes chosen on a flight by flight basis to take advantage of favourable winds where possible?
Compare yesterday's eastbound BA11 (LHR-Singapore) vs the westbound BA12 (Singapore-LHR) flights.[0] Neither route looks like a great circle.
Eastbound routing: London - north of Berlin - Minsk - Voronezh - Volgograd - cross Caspian sea - Turkmenistan - Lahore - New Delhi - KL - Singapore.
Westbound: Singapore - KL - south of Jaipur - Iran - just touched Turkmenistan - south of Baku - Tbilsi - Turkey (just) - south of Prague - south of Dortmund - LHR
[0] flightradar24.com or similar
- subhro 8y agoYes, most of the time. There is actually Winds aloft data that is made available to pilots to select routes. And in lots of cases IFR routes are designed keeping these speeds in mind.
- pdx_flyer 8y agoTypically yes. Right now there is a general avoidance of Ukrainian (Crimean and nearby) and Syrian airspace so the flight plans will take that into account, the winds aloft, and the airways available.