Originally Posted by
janehoya
Without tailwinds assisting him I doubt that the pilot would have been able to make-up time in the air. +1 on the poster who says that the airlines have been padding their schedules for years. IMHO it has gotten ridiculous in the pat few years.
It's all about expectations. If the airline tells you it will take 3 hrs and 30 minutes for a flight, do you actually calculate how long it should take if they flew at the maximum cruise speed and had minimum wait for take-off? I would much rather have a schedule padded and be on time than have a schedule that assumed best case scenario and then was late.