WEBVTT - How Do Pilots 'Make Up' Time During Flights?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>learn vogel bomb here. Let's say you've just started the

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<v Speaker 1>first leg of a flight and you're a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>on edge because it was delayed. Are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>miss your connection? But as you taxi to the runway,

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<v Speaker 1>the pilot's voice booms over the intercom, giving you fresh hope.

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<v Speaker 1>They say they may be able to make up lost

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<v Speaker 1>time during the trip. But how on Earth or in

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<v Speaker 1>the atmosphere do commercial airline pilots make up for lost

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<v Speaker 1>time when a flight is running behind? Are they pressing

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<v Speaker 1>extra hard on the accelerator. There are actually a number

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<v Speaker 1>of ways that pilots can get you and your fellow

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<v Speaker 1>passengers to your next stop ahead of schedule spoiler alert,

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<v Speaker 1>and none of them involve weird sci fi wormholes or

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<v Speaker 1>top gun reenactments. When pilots need to catch up on

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<v Speaker 1>their schedules, they must first alert air traffic control regarding

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<v Speaker 1>the situation. Air Traffic control, of course, provides guidance and

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<v Speaker 1>direction for all flights to ensure maximum safety and efficiency,

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<v Speaker 1>and without their go ahead, your pilot can't do anything

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<v Speaker 1>to make the flight more expedious. But when air traffic

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<v Speaker 1>control and pilots coordinate, they may find some wiggle room

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<v Speaker 1>in the flight plan. That's because flight plans are rarely

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<v Speaker 1>straight lines from point A to point B. Instead, there

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<v Speaker 1>is a series of waypoints that guide the plane along

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<v Speaker 1>to its destination. By omitting a waypoint or two, called

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<v Speaker 1>direct routing, the pilot might be able to shave several

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<v Speaker 1>minutes from a flight plan. For the article. This episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke via email with

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<v Speaker 1>Jim Cox, a retired US Airways pilot who now operates

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<v Speaker 1>an aviation safety consulting company called Safety Operating Systems. He

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<v Speaker 1>explained that root adjustments are common in the industry. He

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<v Speaker 1>explained air traffic control has preferred routing out of and

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<v Speaker 1>into large cities. They require that routing be the filed

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<v Speaker 1>flight plan routing. Depending on traffic, air traffic control may

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<v Speaker 1>approve a request to shorten the flight path between navigation waypoints.

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<v Speaker 1>This means that with shorter flights, there isn't much a

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<v Speaker 1>pilot can do to save time. Longer flights are a

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<v Speaker 1>better bet for pilots that need to make time up.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to the route itself, wind conditions greatly affect

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<v Speaker 1>flight time A significant headwind blowing against the plane will

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<v Speaker 1>slow the plane's overall speed. A tailwind pushing the plane

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<v Speaker 1>can reduce flight time. If pilots can't avoid headwinds, they'll

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<v Speaker 1>do their best to minimize its effects on the plane.

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<v Speaker 1>Prevailing winds tend to blow from west to east in

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<v Speaker 1>many parts of the world, so airlines tend to choose

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<v Speaker 1>the most efficient routes given typical winds for the time

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<v Speaker 1>of day or even by the season. On days when

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<v Speaker 1>the prevailing winds veer in a different direction, the pilots

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<v Speaker 1>may find that their flight time drops significantly compared with

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<v Speaker 1>days or weeks earlier. So airline routes that go from

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<v Speaker 1>west to east might allow a pilot to use the

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<v Speaker 1>wind to save time, assuming whether conditions are favorable. You

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<v Speaker 1>generally won't find wing conditions helping with north south roots.

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<v Speaker 1>Though you might wonder why pilots don't simply increase the

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<v Speaker 1>plane's speed to make up for time. That's because modern

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<v Speaker 1>airliners are already built to fly at whatever the craft's

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<v Speaker 1>optimum maximum speed is. Simply increasing the plane's speed would

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<v Speaker 1>accomplish little in terms of time savings and burn a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more of the airline's most precious and costly resource fuel.

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<v Speaker 1>Even on very long flights, accelerating burns hundreds of extra

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<v Speaker 1>pounds of fuel and saves at best only minutes on

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<v Speaker 1>overall trip time. As you consider your schedule, keep in

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<v Speaker 1>mind the airlines measure trip time using various terms, including

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<v Speaker 1>flight time and block time. Block time includes things like

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<v Speaker 1>taxiing and takeoff trips to and from. Busy airports like

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<v Speaker 1>in Atlanta or New York City have more cushion built

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<v Speaker 1>into their block time to give pilots a better chance

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<v Speaker 1>of reaching their destinations on time. It's during your actual

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<v Speaker 1>flight time, when the wheels aren't touching the ground, that

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<v Speaker 1>your pilot may be able to cut a few corners

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<v Speaker 1>and get you there more quickly. Also, we should note

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<v Speaker 1>here that the airline industry isn't really built for changes

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<v Speaker 1>to schedules, even if it seems like getting in early

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<v Speaker 1>would generally be favorable. After all, there's a limited amount

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<v Speaker 1>of airport infrastructure and workers available to process flights. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if there are fifteen gates for disembarking passengers, a sixteenth

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<v Speaker 1>plane that arrives early has nowhere to go. Similarly, ground

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<v Speaker 1>crews can only handle so much luggage at once, meaning

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<v Speaker 1>passengers might arrive ahead of schedule but then have nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to do but pace around waiting at baggage claim. Interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>even though engine technologies have vastly improved, commercial airliners haven't

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<v Speaker 1>gotten any faster since the nineteen sixties, and in many cases,

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<v Speaker 1>modern planes are actually a little bit slower than their ancestors.

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<v Speaker 1>It all boils down to engine efficiency, drag, and fuel costs.

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<v Speaker 1>Airlines operate on exacting profit margins, and fuel is a

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<v Speaker 1>major expense. Today's episode is based on the article how

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<v Speaker 1>do pilots make up time in the air on how

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<v Speaker 1>stuffworks dot com, written by Nathan Chandler. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com

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<v Speaker 1>and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from

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