transatlantic flight plans.

FlightAware General
1

Hi
i was on an Emirates flight recently from YYZ and while normally the flight takes northernly route close to Greenland, this flight took a direct route across the atlantic and made landfall into Portugal and then from there to DXB.

Then again i was on Etihad flight more recently and tha took a similar plan as well.

Is this now a routine and is there any advantages to this direct flight plan over the usual northern routes?
Thanks

AE

2

The top reason to for varying routes is the winds aloft. If you can pick up a good tailwind, it can make sense to take a longer route.