I want to second the comment about not relying on the location of an inbound aircraft as an indication that the flight will be delayed.

1) Many airlines have designated spare aircraft located at strategic locations throughout their network on stand-by to fill in for irregular flight operations (especially true at hub cities).

2) Even with no spares, an airline may cancel another, less important flight at the last minute to free up an aircraft for your flight. (Depends on passenger loads, revenue, availability of alternative routings, etc.).

3) Airline may delay an earlier departure to take on passengers from the later, delayed flight.

I've seen people miss flights by trying to be "smart" in using the FLIFO aircraft positioning info.

Same goes with "Comparing Arrivals and Departures." Only use this info once you've arrived at the airport, and even then watch out for gate changes. I use this technique quite often when trying to decide when to leave a restaurant or airline lounge for the gate-- but you have to be vigilant.

Also, even if the flight departs the gate late, you run the risk of being bumped if you are not there ahead of scheduled departure time (assuming no revised actual departure time has been posted). Since the airline may be trying to turn the plane around quickly, they may start processing standbys before the aircraft is even at the gate.


[This message has been edited by HKG_Flyer1 (edited 05-31-2001).]