Does flying east to west generally take longer than west to east in America?

Does flying east to west generally take longer than west to east in America?

3/3/2012 12:56:22 AM

Because of the way the earth turns (the sun “rises” in the east), there are prevailing winds going from west to east over most of the earth.

On a trip from the East coast to the west coast of the United States, the time difference between a tail wind (flying west to east) and a typical headwind (flying east to west) is about an hour.

3/28/2012 11:51:35 PM

Much like others have said, my answer on another question serves to explain this.

However, to clarify for you, in the US you’re looking for prevalent jetstreams to show the cause.

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The prevailing jetstreams in the US flow from west to east in the upper portion of the troposphere.

You can also see a map here of all the prevailing jetstreams around the world.

The Jet Stream affecting the U.S. moves up and down across the
continent. When it is farther north, say in Canada, the weather to its
south tends to be mild or at least less cold. When the stream, which
meanders, swings south until well within the U.S., especially in
winter,very cold, often harsh weather prevails at the surface on the
northern side. This diagram shows two typical positions at the height
of Summer and of Winter.

Also note this LIVE amazing display of the prevailing winds in the USA, which affect all this.

And as you can see, the prevailing jet stream is from west to east.

5/10/2012 5:07:55 AM

As Mark Mayo’s answer shows, wind is the primary determinant of the difference in speed.

The jet stream is a prevailing wind that typically is going somewhere over the United States, and runs typically from the West Coast to the East Coast. As such, there is a prevailing headwind (-mph) going east to west and a prevailing tailwind (+mph) going west to east.

The path of the jet stream is highly variable (its usually shown on weather maps, because it is the primary determinant of weather), but can be usually thought of as a U shaped curve that on average goes from say, Oregon, south to Texas, and back up to say, Pennsylvania. How deep it goes, and how far north or south it is on any given day, can be off by several states. That’s also why flight times can vary so much from the printed value.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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