Can someone explain why the flight from KIND - KLAX on DL2907 is about 5 hours long and the return KLAX-KIND on DL2908 is just over 3 hours long? I just had this flight and it didn’t make sense.
I know the earth rotates and this might have something to do with it, but it rotates E to W so you would think that the 2907 flight would be shorter. What am I missing?
Two guesses, time zone changes and wind speeds. Going from IND-LAX, you cross two time zones, losing two hours in the process. Winds aloft also typically run west to east, making westbound trips longer.
3h42 min for 2908 vs 4h54min for 2907. Different is only 1h12min and it’s due to winds.
100kts on the nose vs the tail can mean 450kts vs 650kts.
Timezones have no impact on time en route.
I was just thinking if you saw the flight leave at 1PM, and arrive at 5 PM, without paying attention to which time zone. I didn’t look up the flights in question.