Stupid question about "Departure Time," please....
Nov 20, 2007 | 12:32 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 27
Stupid question about "Departure Time," please....
I have a question about what "departure time" actually is, when you look at information on Websites like Flight Aware. Is it the time the plane leaves the gate, or the time it actually gets airborne?
For example, let's say a flight was originally scheduled to leave at 7pm, and the departure time on Flight Aware states 8pm (after the fact). Does it mean the flight could have closed at, say, 6:45PM, and the plane just taxied out and sat there on the tarmac for an hour? Or does it mean the flight didn't close until just before 8PM? Thanks.
For example, let's say a flight was originally scheduled to leave at 7pm, and the departure time on Flight Aware states 8pm (after the fact). Does it mean the flight could have closed at, say, 6:45PM, and the plane just taxied out and sat there on the tarmac for an hour? Or does it mean the flight didn't close until just before 8PM? Thanks.
Nov 20, 2007 | 7:16 am
#3
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: DTW
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For the airline (and passengers that want to make their flight) departure time is when the door is to be closed. There is more time built into the schedule for pushback, taxi, etc. So if you have an 8:00 flight and the door closes at exactly 8:00, you departed on-time even if you sit in the penalty box for an hour.
Flight aware tracks the actual wheels up time. If you want to know how long it took to get from the gate to takeoff, use the airline website to find departure time, then flight aware to get takeoff time. The difference is pushback, taxi, hold, etc.
Flight aware tracks the actual wheels up time. If you want to know how long it took to get from the gate to takeoff, use the airline website to find departure time, then flight aware to get takeoff time. The difference is pushback, taxi, hold, etc.
Nov 20, 2007 | 9:23 am
#5
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The OP's Q. is a good and tricky one. Actually FlightAware pulls data from the FAA's en route radar tracking system and that system does not track a plane until "wheels-up". However, as others correctly noted, the airline industry defines departure time as the time the a/c will "push" from the gate or stand. I verified this by comparing the data on two flights I took yesterday. The airline website data clocked departure times as when the planes left the gate. FlightAware clocked as the time the flights took off from the runway.
Nov 20, 2007 | 2:25 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Seatlle, WA
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Flightstats.com will tell you both
Flightstats.com will tell you the time is left the gate and the time it left the runway. It tells you the same for arrival, and if you want to get really detailed, it even tells you all sorts of technical details, like runway schedule updates.
You can also see the overall on time rating for that flight.
For the details, the site does require registration, but it is free. I relied heavily on the historical flight data on the site when I started entereing my flightmemory data.
You can also see the overall on time rating for that flight.
For the details, the site does require registration, but it is free. I relied heavily on the historical flight data on the site when I started entereing my flightmemory data.
