You will see a few different flight times floating around for the same trip, and they are not errors. Gate to gate, air time, block time, and the schedule on your ticket each measure something slightly different. Here is what they mean.
Gate-to-gate time is the clock from when the plane pushes back from the departure gate to when it parks at the arrival gate. It includes taxiing out, waiting for takeoff, the flight itself, and taxiing in. This is the number most people actually feel, and it is what the FlightBeat calculator estimates.
Air time is just the part between wheels-up and wheels-down. It is shorter than gate to gate because it leaves out all the taxiing, which at a busy airport can easily be 20 to 40 minutes on its own. When a pilot says the flight will be "two hours in the air," that is air time.
Block time is the airline's term, and it is essentially the same as gate to gate. The name comes from the wheel chocks, or blocks, being removed at departure and placed at arrival. Airlines schedule crews and aircraft by block time.
The scheduled time printed on your ticket is usually padded beyond real gate-to-gate time. Airlines add buffer so that normal delays, taxi queues, and headwinds do not make the flight officially "late." That is why a route we estimate at 6 hours gate to gate might be sold as a 6 hour 25 minute flight.
For catching connections and planning your day, gate to gate is the honest number, and it is what our calculator gives you, with wind included and taxi time already added.
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