how do pilots cut time on flights?

Question

it never really made sense to me how you could travel the same distance in less time if the airplane isn’t going any faster. how is the time reduced?

In: Other

Answer 1

Another factor that hasn’t been mentioned: Planes don’t always travel at the same speed, there’s usually room to fly faster or slower. For normal flights, airplanes try and fly at a speed that minimises the total fuel burn, however when a flight is delayed, the airline/pilots might choose to fly at a slightly higher airspeed than typical, at the cost of worse fuel efficiency, to try and make up some of the delay