Ask the pilot: How do you calculate Flight Time?

"Factors such as weather, slot times, military traffic and other air traffic can affect the choice of route.”

How do you calculate flight time?

/Peter

Hi Peter,

Just as with other modes of transport, travel time is worked out by calculating distance divided by speed. In this case, the flight duration is the distance of the flight route divided by the ground speed.

A flight from A to B can be carried out over one or several routes. These routes are like roads in the air with the addition that you can also fly at different heights and that wind speed can vary between them. Ideally, you choose the most optimal flight route based on the shortest possible duration, as this saves fuel. However, many other factors such as weather, slot times, military traffic, other air traffic and so on can affect the choice of route.

The distance of the flight is actually quite simple to work out and it’s easy to do manual calculations on a map using a ruler, but at SAS, we use computer programs.

It does, however, get a bit more complicated when you want to calculate the speed over the ground (GS, or Ground Speed) which is the aircraft’s speed in relation to the air (TAS, or True Airspeed) taking into account wind speed (headwind and tailwind affect the speed over the ground). The shorter the interval you use to calculate the speed over the ground, the more accurate the flight time will ultimately be.

Pernilla Nilsson
Senior First Officer

Pernilla Nilsson

Title: Senior First Officer
Home base: Copenhagen
Flies: A319, A320, A321
Flight hours: 13,500
Favorite airport: Most of the Norwegian airports. They can be very challenging in harsh weather but a beautiful day it’s unbeatable. The landscape is fantastic with the mountains and fjords. You’ll never get tired of this view.