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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Unusual Head Winds Prolong Flights Unusually strong February winds at high altitudes have led to longer flight times, unscheduled pit stops and higher costs for U.S. airlines. David Neeleman, CEO at discount carrier JetBlue, called it a "10-to-20-year event," in a speech to investors at a conference last week. The problem, which mainly has affected long distance east-to-west flights, costs his airline money by disrupting its schedule. This month, the southern leg of the jet stream — a river of high-altitude westerly winds blowing across the continent — has been unusually large and powerful. On the ground, the unusual jet stream has had a role in keeping the Northern Plains dry, and, two weeks ago, dumping huge amounts of snow on the Northeast. Where jetliners fly, the jet steam blew at about 160 mph, with peaks above 170 mph, for about 10 days ending Wednesday. JetBlue says peak winds in a normal winter would be less than 127 mph. Windy skies PEAK WIND SPEED Average winter: 92-127 mph February 2006: 173+ mph Source: JetBlue Making matters worse, JetBlue and other airlines say, the northern and southern legs of the jet stream nearly merged, making it impossible to fly around the high head winds. Fred Johnson, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says the jet stream seems to be returning to its normal winter condition. When the jet stream was at its strongest, JetBlue's west-bound ground speeds, normally more than 400 mph, fell to about 330 mph. East-bound planes, with the tail wind, zoomed to 518 mph. US Airways, American, United, Delta, Northwest and Continental all reported wind-driven problems. Single-aisle, two-engine jets, such as JetBlue's Airbus A-320 and the popular Boeing 737, are more vulnerable to schedule disruptions because they carry less fuel. An unplanned fuel stop adds to the costliest portions of a trip — a landing and a takeoff. A backed-up schedule adds to overtime for workers, and might require an airline to placate inconvenienced passengers with vouchers for food, lodging or future travel. For passengers, wind-related disruptions caused some headaches. In some instances, they learned of a fueling stop before boarding. In others, they were told in flight. Kristin Arnold, a management consultant from Alexandria, Va., arrived at Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 17 more than two hours late because her JetBlue flight from Washington Dulles airport had to make a fuel stop in Albuquerque. Mitchell Goozé, a marketing consultant from Santa Clara, Calif., arrived in San Jose, Calif., on Feb. 15 more than hour late after his JetBlue flight from New York stopped for fuel in Denver. Linda Melikian got an unexpected stay in Minneapolis on Feb. 9 when her Northwest flight from Baltimore made a pit stop in Milwaukee. That caused the technical trainer to miss her connecting flight home to San Diego. US Airways spokesman Phil Gee says unscheduled fuel stops, mostly in Kansas City, added at least 45 minutes to transcontinental flights. Gee said fuel savings from the tail winds on west-to-east trips mostly make up for the higher costs of bucking head winds. "But it's hard to make up the time," he says.
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