Seattle to Maui 7 hours??

[cvmar]

I was reviewing my March 09 plans to Maui and I noticed our nonstop flight out of Seattle show a travel time of 6hr 55min (Depart 10:30am & Arrive 2:30 pm) and it states our return flight is only 4.5 hours (Depart 3:30pm & Arrive 10:55pm) Every other time we have flown there Sea-Ogg is 6 hours and the return is around 5.5 hours. And extra hour seems excessive and how do you loose an hour on the return? I have factored in DST will be in effect in Seattle am I missing something?

 

[PrettyKitties]

I don't know if it is going on with your flight, but some airlines are flying slower to save on fuel.

 

[Icarus]

The flight to the mainland is shorter because of the jet stream.

It sounds like your nonstop flight may not actually be a nonstop. What are the details for that flight? (Date, airline and flight number.)

-David

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

There is a 2-hour time difference between Seattle and Hawai'i, so your outbound flight time is 6 hours, and your return flight time is 5.5 hours.

added note: I'm not sure when you're flying re the start of daylight savings. I suspect that the flight times may not have been adjusted for the new DST schedule.

 

[Icarus]

There is a 2-hour time difference between Seattle and Hawai'i, so your outbound flight time is 6 hours, and your return flight time is 5.5 hours.

added note: I'm not sure when you're flying re the start of daylight savings. I suspect that the flight times may not have been adjusted for the new DST schedule.

Good point, Steve. DST is the other possibility. Time difference is 2 hours when you're on standard time, but 3 hours when you are on daylight savings time.

What equipment does Alaska use on its Hawaii flights? (I'm guessing it might be Alaska.) Aloha, which used 737-800's on their mainland routes were slow flights because the 737-800 flew slower than other aircraft. Their Oakland flights were at least 30 minutes longer than everybody elses flights. One time I was flying them, and we could see other aircraft passing us along the way.

-David

 

[cvmar]

2009 daylight saving time starts March 8 so the time difference when we leave will be 3 hours versus 2. We are flying Hawaiian Air leaving Seattle on March 27th flight #29 and returning April 10th flight #30 and both show as nonstop. We took these same nonstop flights in the fall of 2006 and the Sea-Ogg flight then departed at 10:00 am arriving at 12:55pm (5hr 55 min) and the Ogg-Sea time departed at 3:25pm arriving at 10:55pm (5hr 30 min) - daylight saving time had ended while we were in Hawaii. Daylight saving time will be in effect (mainland) the entire time on this trip. I had heard airlines were slowing down their planes to save fuel but to add an entire hour to a flight seems excessive.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I still suspect it's a flight schedule that hasn't been adjusted for the new daylight savings schedule.

 

[cvmar]

[QUOTE I still suspect it's a flight schedule that hasn't been adjusted for the new daylight savings schedule.

That makes sense since it is an hour wrong each way Because I really don't like to fly I was freaked out by another hour in the air over the big blue ocean. Now if I can only find a way to keep the flight home an hour shorter!

 

[tompalm]

The jet stream in the winter is a lot stronger than it is during the summer. The airlines adjust the times based on the wind for that time of the year. During the winter, going to Hawaii, planes will sometimes see headwinds that average 125 kts, and during the summer the wind average might be 20 kts.

The good news is that your trip home should be a lot faster. However, there are days when you fly to Hawaii and face a brutal headwind one day, and the very next day you look forward to those great winds and they are only 50 kts.

In Japan, the jet stream is sometimes over 200 kts. Good thing most flights go north and south in Japan. I bring that up because I just got back. Looks like I will be leaving Hawaii in September to live in Japan for three years and work for a small company that has 737s. Anyway....

T R could be right about the daylight savings time, two hours is a big difference. One hour or 1.5 hours time difference is all it should be based on the winds. Also, everyone above is correct about flying slower these days to save fuel and that 737s fly slower. So, Alaska will take a little longer and they might not be able to make it if the winds are really bad.

Aloha flights had to fly Vancouver to Oakland to Honolulu about one day each month during the winter because the winds were so bad and that only happened a few times each year. It actually only took a couple hours longer that way and didn't hurt the schedule too much. However, most passengers did not like the side trip.

 

[Icarus]

In Japan, the jet stream is sometimes over 200 kts. Good thing most flights go north and south in Japan. I bring that up because I just got back. Looks like I will be leaving Hawaii in September to live in Japan for three years and work for a small company that has 737s. Anyway....

Glad to hear you found something, Tom. Living in Japan should be interesting.

-David

 

[Dave M]

I still suspect it's a flight schedule that hasn't been adjusted for the new daylight savings schedule.

I believe Steve is correct. If you go to any airfare search engine and look at timing for nonstop flights a week or two earlier, in late February 2009, you'll see that Steve's data is correct - about 6 hours going over and about 5 1/2 coming back.

 

[tompalm]

It just hit me why Hawaiian has so much extra time on their arrival to Honolulu. Hawaiian has the number one rating for being on time. They get that from landing before scheduled arrival time, or within 15 minutes after their scheduled arrival time. To ensure that they can make their scheduled time, they pad the arrival time to plan for strongest winds in the winter. You will probably arrive way early. Aloha use to pad their flights by 30 minutes to ensure on time arrival. Hawaiian is probably using 45 minutes to one hour.