Flight Duration

How long is a flight to london-florida? does anyone know? and does it change depending on the airline i'm travelling with?

cheers

check opodo.com, you will find out the difference between airlines.

Originally posted by ecbateman
How long is a flight to london-florida? does anyone know? and does it change depending on the airline i'm travelling with?

cheers

There is not really a definitive answer to this as it depends on the prevailing winds when the flight is made and also which part of Florida you are going to ISTBC but the airports avaialble from London are Orlando, Sanford, Miami and Tampa.

Dont think there is much difference as to which airline you fly - aircraft type do travel at different speeds but unless its Concorde it wont make much difference

On average its about 9 hours and the VS schedules for LGW to MCO show 9hrs 25 mins and LHR to MIA 9 and 3/4 hours.

And you can search other airline web sites for other schedules.

Im interested to know why you are interested in this!!

There is a very small difference between aircraft types, although this isn't really noticeable. Also, if the winds happen to be stronger for one flight than another, a supposedly slower aircaft can do the route quicker than a faster one. Furthermore, depending on ATC and business at aiports, the block time (leaving the gate and arriving at the gate) can vary as well.

VS.

The routing can also make a big difference; also if the plane has 2 engines then it may have to fly a longer route, to stay within the ETOPS requirements of always being within 120 minutes (or whatever) of an airport at all times, so that can make a difference as well.

So a charter airline, or BA, might take longer. VS only use 4 engined aircraft so ETOPS isn't a consideration.

I don't think etops requirements affect the UK-FL routes as most twin engine scheduled flights now are rated to 180 mins. This is plenty to keep you on the shortest path anyway.
I believe Airlines routinely show durations to include gate to gate. This means that although airline A quotes 9h 25mins, the flight could be 30 minutes less. The biggest factors in all of this is as has been mentioned, winds (and weather generally) and ATC.

Paul

thanks for all your replys
and i guess u have in flight entertainment?

Originally posted by ecbateman
thanks for all your replys
and i guess u have in flight entertainment?

Yeah there's always soemthing going on!!

Just click on "in flight entertainment" which is just to your left on the "member resources" list - it will tell you all you need to know.[y]

You can also use this for lots of great info about Virgin flights - seats, tickets, which aircraft, airports etc etc .

Have fun:D

good im going to need in flight entertainment cos im going with my other half and his family and he's got a 5 year old brother!! ahhhh! a 5 year old for 9 hours on a flight!!

Originally posted by ecbateman
good im going to need in flight entertainment cos im going with my other half and his family and he's got a 5 year old brother!! ahhhh! a 5 year old for 9 hours on a flight!!

When I took my 5 year old and 3 year old grandchildren from MAN to MCO a couple of years back, they absolutely loved the flight. They had the seat back TVs, colouring books and story books to occupy them. Give him plenty to do - I'm sure the 5 year old won't be a problem. Oh, of course the 8_ hour chloroform-induced sleep helped too. [}:)]

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by ecbateman
thanks for all your replys
and i guess u have in flight entertainment?

Yes I do, but I have been told that as this is a family site I am not allowed to discuss that....again.... [B)][:#]

Anyways take a look here it may give you an idea as to what type of entertainment you can get on your flight.

Yes I do, but I have been told that as this is a family site I am not allowed to discuss that....again....

Anyways take a look here it may give you an idea as to what type of entertainment you can get on your flight.

Was a bit worried about clicking on the link after reading your first sentence;)[}:)][:p]

VS.

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by VS045

Yes I do, but I have been told that as this is a family site I am not allowed to discuss that....again....

Anyways take a look here it may give you an idea as to what type of entertainment you can get on your flight.

Was a bit worried about clicking on the link after reading your first sentence;)[}:)][:p]

VS.

Wise man..no I a reformed man..honest I am..just trying to be helpful.

you said
Give him plenty to do - I'm sure the 5 year old won't be a problem. Oh, of course the 8_ hour chloroform-induced sleep helped too.

wow does that mean with the changing hand baggage rules i can now take on chloroform again !!! yes
i was getting worried i would not be able to take it for my 3 year old next wednesday but now ive read that i feel a lot more relaxed --as can the other UC pax on VS27 that day lol

seriously though

do the kids still get a back pack to keep them occupied for a while

thanks
steve

[honey lamb]

Originally posted by candyman

seriously though

do the kids still get a back pack to keep them occupied for a while

thanks
steve

Yup! When we were boarding VS27 a couple of weeks ago there were several boxes of kid's packs stacked by the entrance to the jetway.

Interesting thread. A quick Q for all you experts!! I started flying LHR to LAX 18 yrs ago and the flight time used to be between 11+ hrs there and 10+ return. These days its more like <10 hrs there and <9 back. I understand that its quicker to come back due to jet streams (Gulfstream one I think in this case??)but overall flight times seem much quicker these days.

Is this because of newer aircraft that fly faster, lighter planes or global warming etc Many thanks

All depends on the upper winds. The VS7 on Sat(11th Nov) took 12 hrs to LAX due strong headwinds. I was on the return VS8 which took 9hrs 20min. A couple of friends flew back on the BA268 8hrs 45mins. The Airbus 340-600 flies about 30kts slower than a Boeing 747-400.

i dont think that there is much of a time difference of the flight. some flights maybe quicker becuase of where ATC instructs the a/c to go. i was flyong back from SFO 3 weeks ago and this would usually take at least 10+ hours but it only took just under 9. the reason was for a very strong tail wind. also we were able to come down alot earlier becuase we didnt fly over iceland/ greenland and we dflew over ireland instead of scotland.

Going to the west coast, the route is usually over greenland so as to avoid the stronger headwinds further south. West coast-LHR is, however, a different matter. If there are strong winds, the route taken will be much further south to take advantage of the tail-wind.

VS.

Originally posted by nafanny29

Is this because of newer aircraft that fly faster, lighter planes or global warming etc Many thanks

None of them - it's a reflection of the warm political relationship between the two countries. I heard the president talking about this just the other day: "When two great nations are closer politically they are also closer geographilogicaly".

My flight to MIA last week was 9h20 and back from MIA this morning was 7h55.

thanks for all your replys
can anyone reccomend anythin for someone like me who doesnt like flying going on a long flight?!!! (london - florida, orlando)

i hate flying, but going with my other half so i have 2!
is there anything for me to do or take that stops me being anxious about it?

Originally posted by ecbateman
thanks for all your replys
can anyone reccomend anythin for someone like me who doesnt like flying going on a long flight?!!! (london - florida, orlando)

i hate flying, but going with my other half so i have 2!
is there anything for me to do or take that stops me being anxious about it?

Talk to sailor about melatonin [}:)]

Originally posted by ecbateman
i hate flying, but going with my other half so i have 2!
is there anything for me to do or take that stops me being anxious about it?

Actually, you are not alone. Use your favorite search engine and search 'fear+flying+help' for several pages of info, even on-line classes! The first step in seeing a problem cease to be one is acknowledging it's there in the first place. You have my sincere praise for admitting to your fear, and my best wishes for accomplishing the end of it (or at the least a reduction so you can have a happy trip with your family).

Have fun at the House of Mouse!

Melatonin works for many - you have nice dreams and wake up raring to go (no draggy feeling like with sleeping pills). That will help you sleep, but information will help your mind. Check out the websites if you can! Many are free. VS used to offer fear of flying classes (perhaps they still do), but they weren't free. You also need time to attend it!

Good luck! If, despite all you do, you feel anxious in flight, hit the call button and talk to the crew. They see this all the time; there are things they can suggest to help you.