brewdog11

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that my flights over the past few years have been flying at higher and higher altitudes.

About 10 years ago, 35,000 seemed to be the norm. However, it seems that none of the flights I take go below 36,000 feet nowadays; they usually travel at around 38,000 feet. I flew on a BA flight this past weekend LHR-IAH that flew at 40,000 feet. Anyone else notice anything similar?

sbm12

The 787 and A350 will typically cruise higher than the 767 and 777s IME. WN seems to fly its 737s higher than others based on some random data points I've experienced but I never stopped long enough to look at the real data for that to know if I'm just imagining it.

pinniped

I've noticed the same thing...I assumed it was purely anecdotal (and may still be) and noticed solely because 40,000 feet stands out in my mind.

Even my short DAL-MCI flight two days ago cruised at 39k.

Proudelitist

Fuel savings. The higher altitudes on shorter flights started becoming noticeable around 2008. Depends on the weather tho.

YVR Cockroach

Could be due to more widespread use of blended winglets. The Aviation Partners (designer and supplier to Boeing) website back in the day use to make lots of claims including non-stop climb to altitude instead of making climbs in steps. I don't have anything to verify this but a pilot who used to be on FT a long time back said they were quite effective on the 737s he flew out of HKG.

I do remember 747-400s and 767-300s attaining final cruise altitudes of over 40,000' even in the early 2000s if not before.

jrl767

goes back farther than that ... I was on a UA 767-200 that did SEA-JFK at 41000 ft back in 1983, and I want to say that the return flight went the last couple hours at 43000

lhrsfo

Yes. Years of flying between London and the West Coast of the USA on a mixture of 747s, 767s, 777s and, nowadays if I can’t avoid them, 787s suggessts that the 747s and the 787s get up higher earlier. If the 777 is very lightly loaded it’s sometimes up at 40000 feet by Spokane but normally peaks at 38000 feet.

I was on a 350 (lovely plane) between HEL and HKG and it got high very early in the flight. Perhaps it’s the super-cool wing design...

LarryJ

No, airplanes are not flying higher. They've always flown at the highest altitude that weight, temperature, winds, turbulence, and ATC would allow. Newer generation airplanes tend to have more power so can reach higher altitudes at higher weights but that would only be noticeable when comparing to much older airplanes.

KDS777

Flew for a long time at 41,000' in a 787 last month,

BuddhaExplores

By no means an expert, but would planes now fly higher to avoid turbulence? Just feels like flights in general now experience a lot more turbulence compared to 5 years ago where you can have a flight without any interruptions to service.

Fabo.sk

No. Flying higher can have the benefit of missing turbulence that would have been present on a lower level, but it's not the reason for flying higher (and flying higher is no guarantee of less turbulence either)

LarryJ

We always try to find an altitude with a smoother ride. Sometimes that means higher, sometimes lower. If the airplane is capable of flying higher (at the current weight) then we have more options.

Higher also means lower fuel burn and sometimes the fuel requirements will prevent us from going significantly lower to find a smoother ride. Higher can also mean stronger winds--maybe headwinds, maybe tailwinds. All of these things must be considered when choosing an altitude.

All else being equal, we would prefer to always stay at the optimum altitude for the current weight which would mean step-climbing throughout the flight. In most of the world's airspace (or at least the airspace where airliners spend most of their time) that means step-climbs in 2,000' increments. The airplanes with the newer-technology engines just give us more options as they can make the higher altitudes at higher weights.

You will rarely see a US airline flight above FL410, even if the airplane is capable of it, as US regulations would require one of the pilots to use oxygen during the time spent above FL410.

I haven't noticed, nor heard of, any change in the prevalence of turbulence over my 28 years as an airline pilot.

Dadaluma83

Isnt flying at higher altitudes bad? Like the coffin corner, makes the plane stall too easily with just a small change to altitude or airspeed?

KDS777

Generally speaking no it is not.

It all depends on the particular aircraft.

LarryJ

That's what I was saying about the altitude that your weight, and temperature, will allow.