Chicago Travel Forum

Can anyone explain this?

American Airlines
Toronto to Chicago: 10:10 am arriving 10:40am

Chicago to Toronto: 2:20pm arriving 4:55pm

There is a time difference but the flight is only supposed to be about 40-45 minutes. AA could not explain this to me.

Well, the flight is clearly not 40 to 45 minutes. It about 500 miles between the two cities and to make the flight in 40 minutes would require a constant speed of about 755 mph - faster than the speed of sound, which no commercial airliner normally does. This also doesn't allow for the slower speeds as the plane ascends and descends. So making the flight in 40-45 minutes in a commercial airliner is not realistic. Jet fighter, sure, but not a commercial airliner.

I would say that the flight is probably an hour and 15 to an hour and 20 minutes - about 400 mph on average, which is more reasonable.

The other 10-15 minutes between the 09:10 (CDT) departure from Toronto and the 10:40 CDT arrival in Chicago is due to the difference between the flight time (actual time in air) and the gate-to-gate time, since you will spend a while taxing on the runways. In order to build in some pad time, they report to you the gate-to-gate time, which leaves them a little pad if they can off the ground and back to your gate in less time that the pad allows.

Make sense?

Bill

There is an hour difference between Toronto and Chicago. From gate to gate it is about 1h30, a bit more flying west because of the prevailing winds

The info I received was clearly wrong then; I was thinking the same thing myself, but trusted when a friend told me it was only less than an hour flight. I've never been to Chicago, so I wouldn't have gotten it the first time around, yes, it makes sense!!!!

I may be completely wrong, but I believe that the "strangeness" is due to those two cities being in different time zones. Chicago is in Central time, Toronto is in Eastern time.

So, you'll be leaving Toronto at 10:10am Eastern. Landing in Chicago at 10:40 Central (which is 11:40 Eastern -- which means the flight is an hour and 30 minutes).

On the way back, you'll be leaving Chicago at 2:20pm Central, and landing in Toronto at 4:55 Eastern (which is 3:55 Central -- which means that flight is 1 hour and 35 minutes).

So -- the actual flight time is the same, but the times are listed in their specific time zone, so they appear to be "off".

The OP now understands that the strangeness was due to being misinformed on the length of the flight...the OP knew that there was a time zone change...

I am sure that the person at AA with whom the OP spoke had no way of knowing that the supposed flight time of 40-45 minutes was in error, so, of course, AA wouldn't have a good explanation...

Bill

Hmm...well, the way I read it, the OP wasn't aware of the time zone change (or, at, least, how it works when switching back and forth between time zones), and AA wasn't able to explain it to them, either (hence the OP asking here).

But, if my assessment is incorrect, then so be it. Hopefully the OP will come back in and let us both know! :-)

Thanks for your patient and kind response. Makes sense now.

Thanks again, no use blaming this or blaming that, what matters is that "I" understand now. Again, thanks for your kind reply!

I would not be surprised if they allow an extra 15-30 minutes on flights departing from Chicago to allow for normal taxi times and frequent ground delays in Chicago. The same thing happens on many flights out of Atlanta.

David