Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
I've noticed UA pads its schedule a lot so it can claim that flights are on time when they're late. As an example, that flight was supposed to be 2h 20m, but the captain and FAs told us several times our scheduled flight time was 1h 46m.
The "scheduled" time is block-to-block, i.e. from pushback at the origin gate to blocking at the arriving gate. This includes time for taxi and possible slot delays, which are common in the busier airports (JFK, for example). UA has to account for that in the total transit time, because there's no point quoting an airborne time of 1:46 when taxi and slot delays can add another 30-45 mins.
Also, note that the "on time" designation refers only to getting the flight
out... it doesn't refer to arrival, although certainly a late departure has a higher risk of late arrival (and therefore a late departure for the next flight).