Why the difference in flight durations
 

I am looing at JFK-ATL on Delta.com and notice that the flight time ranges from 2:32 hours to 3 hours. Thats a 30 minute spread. Whats up with that? Difference in aircraft speed or anticipated wait time on tarmac or something else?

thx

1:45 flying time. 30 minutes in line for take-off. 17-45 minutes waiting for the gate to become available in ATL!

30 extra minutes in ATL while the a/c looks for a gas station that actually has gas.

Only 30 minutes?
:p

In addition to different traffic densities at different times of day, JFK-ATL is serviced by 5 different aircraft (757, 738, 767, 73H, E70). Stands to reason they would all have different optimal cruising speeds.

JFK taxi out times vary depending on the time of day. Delta over blocks on JFK flights for this reason.

A lot does depend on ground congestion - simply put, only so many aircraft can take off at a certain time, so there will be times where you'll be number 30 and times where you'll roll right onto the runway. The take-off to touch-down times don't vary too much (more or less weather related and aircraft performance related, but it won't vary too much) but ground congestion does.

BINGO!!! This is the right answer!

"Ah, folks, this is your captain speaking. We're currently number 70 for takeoff. I'll give you an update every half hour or so."

I am nervous because I am on flight #245 at 12:25pm JFK-ATL on wednesday for my wedding. I have a 1.5 hour layover in ATL before my 4:45 flight to ABQ. The weather forecast is 80% rain/storms on Wednesday. I am worried my flight will be delayed and I'll miss my ABQ connection....I thinking about going early and trying to catch an earlier flight. I do not have much experience in rain delays at JFK but hear they can be hours.

Sorry, just gotta ask, um, when is the wedding?

Saturday...but we are headed out to ABQ (really Santa Fe) on Wednesday.

I fly out of JFK and LGA all the time, that's usually the reason for it at JFK

Hmm...let me see...if you leave on Wednesday, you'll be lucky if you arrive by Saturday.:rolleyes:

I've experienced both ends of the spectrum at JFK. On the flip side, I had a flight last Friday night during the middle of what is usualy rush hour. We went to taxi out and ended up being #1 for take off with no delay whatsoever. It was amazing. YMMV. But if you have to get there earlier, it might be worth it to stand by for an earlier flight or do the 12 hour same day flight change.