1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: learn vogel bomb here. Let's say you've just started the 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: first leg of a flight and you're a little bit 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: on edge because it was delayed. Are you going to 5 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: miss your connection? But as you taxi to the runway, 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: the pilot's voice booms over the intercom, giving you fresh hope. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: They say they may be able to make up lost 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: time during the trip. But how on Earth or in 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,160 Speaker 1: the atmosphere do commercial airline pilots make up for lost 10 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: time when a flight is running behind? Are they pressing 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: extra hard on the accelerator. There are actually a number 12 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: of ways that pilots can get you and your fellow 13 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: passengers to your next stop ahead of schedule spoiler alert, 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: and none of them involve weird sci fi wormholes or 15 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: top gun reenactments. When pilots need to catch up on 16 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: their schedules, they must first alert air traffic control regarding 17 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: the situation. Air Traffic control, of course, provides guidance and 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: direction for all flights to ensure maximum safety and efficiency, 19 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: and without their go ahead, your pilot can't do anything 20 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: to make the flight more expedious. But when air traffic 21 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: control and pilots coordinate, they may find some wiggle room 22 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: in the flight plan. That's because flight plans are rarely 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: straight lines from point A to point B. Instead, there 24 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: is a series of waypoints that guide the plane along 25 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: to its destination. By omitting a waypoint or two, called 26 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: direct routing, the pilot might be able to shave several 27 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: minutes from a flight plan. For the article. This episode 28 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke via email with 29 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: Jim Cox, a retired US Airways pilot who now operates 30 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: an aviation safety consulting company called Safety Operating Systems. He 31 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: explained that root adjustments are common in the industry. He 32 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: explained air traffic control has preferred routing out of and 33 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: into large cities. They require that routing be the filed 34 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: flight plan routing. Depending on traffic, air traffic control may 35 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: approve a request to shorten the flight path between navigation waypoints. 36 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: This means that with shorter flights, there isn't much a 37 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: pilot can do to save time. Longer flights are a 38 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: better bet for pilots that need to make time up. 39 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: In addition to the route itself, wind conditions greatly affect 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,119 Speaker 1: flight time A significant headwind blowing against the plane will 41 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: slow the plane's overall speed. A tailwind pushing the plane 42 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: can reduce flight time. If pilots can't avoid headwinds, they'll 43 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: do their best to minimize its effects on the plane. 44 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: Prevailing winds tend to blow from west to east in 45 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: many parts of the world, so airlines tend to choose 46 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: the most efficient routes given typical winds for the time 47 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: of day or even by the season. On days when 48 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: the prevailing winds veer in a different direction, the pilots 49 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: may find that their flight time drops significantly compared with 50 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: days or weeks earlier. So airline routes that go from 51 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: west to east might allow a pilot to use the 52 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: wind to save time, assuming whether conditions are favorable. You 53 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: generally won't find wing conditions helping with north south roots. 54 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: Though you might wonder why pilots don't simply increase the 55 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 1: plane's speed to make up for time. That's because modern 56 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: airliners are already built to fly at whatever the craft's 57 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: optimum maximum speed is. Simply increasing the plane's speed would 58 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: accomplish little in terms of time savings and burn a 59 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: lot more of the airline's most precious and costly resource fuel. 60 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: Even on very long flights, accelerating burns hundreds of extra 61 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: pounds of fuel and saves at best only minutes on 62 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: overall trip time. As you consider your schedule, keep in 63 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: mind the airlines measure trip time using various terms, including 64 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: flight time and block time. Block time includes things like 65 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: taxiing and takeoff trips to and from. Busy airports like 66 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: in Atlanta or New York City have more cushion built 67 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: into their block time to give pilots a better chance 68 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: of reaching their destinations on time. It's during your actual 69 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: flight time, when the wheels aren't touching the ground, that 70 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: your pilot may be able to cut a few corners 71 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: and get you there more quickly. Also, we should note 72 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: here that the airline industry isn't really built for changes 73 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: to schedules, even if it seems like getting in early 74 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: would generally be favorable. After all, there's a limited amount 75 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 1: of airport infrastructure and workers available to process flights. For instance, 76 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: if there are fifteen gates for disembarking passengers, a sixteenth 77 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: plane that arrives early has nowhere to go. Similarly, ground 78 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,359 Speaker 1: crews can only handle so much luggage at once, meaning 79 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: passengers might arrive ahead of schedule but then have nothing 80 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: to do but pace around waiting at baggage claim. Interestingly, 81 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: even though engine technologies have vastly improved, commercial airliners haven't 82 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:14,239 Speaker 1: gotten any faster since the nineteen sixties, and in many cases, 83 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: modern planes are actually a little bit slower than their ancestors. 84 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: It all boils down to engine efficiency, drag, and fuel costs. 85 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: Airlines operate on exacting profit margins, and fuel is a 86 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: major expense. Today's episode is based on the article how 87 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 1: do pilots make up time in the air on how 88 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: stuffworks dot com, written by Nathan Chandler. Brain Stuff is 89 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com 90 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from 91 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 92 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.