Boeing To Scrap Sonic Cruiser
from the from-faster-to-cheaper dept
Perhaps it's really a sign of the times, as Boeing going to announce plans to ditch their proposed "sonic cruisers" and focus on building a new, cheaper conventional airplane. It seems that everything these days is about doing things cheaper, instead of faster, so why should airplanes be any different? The sonic crusier was supposed to fly at faster speeds than conventional aircraft, with the idea being that airlines could cram more flights into each day. Now, however, with the airline industry struggling, they're more interested in conventional planes that are simply cheaper to buy and operate. Some, however, think this is a short term view that Boeing is taking, and that the company has historically stayed strong by making big bets during downtimes that pan out when the economy picks up.
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Airplanes are slower than they used to be
1. Wait longer to take-off or land
2. Take curvier, more roundabout, hyperbolic routes
I remember flights from the West Coast to Japan used to take 8 hours in the early 90s. Today, I'm finding tickets that say flight time will be 9 hours one way, then 11.5 hours the way back.
Although, it just occurred to me that there may be a Coriolis effect involved. Could a flight expert enlighten me to what's going on?
e.g.
12:10pm San Jose, CA(SJC)
4:40pm Tokyo, Japan Narita (NRT)
Travel Time: 11hrs 30min
6:00pm Tokyo, Japan Narita (NRT)
9:50am San Jose, CA (SJC)
Travel Time: 8hrs 50min
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Airplanes are slower than they used to be
http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae156.cfm?CFID=2963412&CFTOKEN=91141401
[ link to this | view in chronology ]