Summary

  • Three transatlantic routes arrive up to 30 minutes before departing because the time zone change is greater than the block time.
  • Fewer than one in 1,000 flights across the Atlantic ‘time travel’.
  • A further 12 routes arrive within 60 minutes of leaving.

Flights that arrive before they leave are always intriguing. The most famous examples involved Concorde: BA001 left Heathrow at 10:30 and arrived at New York JFK at 09:25 local time, while AF002 departed Paris CDG at 10:15 and arrived at 08:15. While numerous short-haul examples exist, the situation differs for long-haul – including across the Atlantic.

Time-traveling transatlantic flights

Using Cirium data to examine all scheduled summer passenger services between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, etc., across the Atlantic to the Americas indicates that just three routes made the cut. They are summarized below.

A Finnair Airbus A350-900 just as it takes off.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Let’s put it into context. Between July 1 and September 21 (the last day of the season for the three routes), the trio collectively have 81 departures (each way). As such, fewer than one in 1,000 transatlantic flights time travel.

Airline

Route

Departure-arrival times (local)

Arriving how long before leaving (local)?

Comments

Condor

Frankfurt-Anchorage

14:10-13:50, 14:30-14:10, 15:00-14:40

20 minutes

Three times weekly A330neo. Ends for the season on September 14

Discover

Frankfurt-Anchorage

14:20-13:50

30 minutes

Twice-weekly A330-300. Ends for the season on September 21

Finnair

Helsinki-Seattle

16:40-16:00

20 minutes

Three times weekly A350-900. Ends for the season on August 31. The oneworld route began in 2022.

Related

The 8 US Airports British Airways Has Stopped Serving In The Past 30+ Years

Which airports do you think no longer see the airline?

Arriving up to 60 minutes after leaving

Given so few services arrive before they leave, the following table lists transatlantic airport pairs that arrive no more than 60 minutes after taking off (local time). It is based on examining all flights between July and September. Many additional airport pairs are scheduled to arrive 61 to 75 minutes after leaving but are excluded.

KLM Boeing 777-300ER

Photo: Stephan Kogelman | Shutterstock

For readability reasons, only the most common times are stated. Some readers may not like Greenland’s inclusion, but it’s quite an exciting addition, especially as it uses turboprops.

Notice that Condor and Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Vancouver are listed below. Air Canada also serves the airport pair, but all its flights arrive 65 minutes later – too long to be included.

Airline

Route

Departure-arrival times (local)

Arriving up to 60 minutes after leaving (local)

Comments about July-September

Air Canada

Dublin-Vancouver

10:15-11:15

60 minutes

Four weekly 787-9

Air France

Paris CDG-Vancouver

10:10-11:10

60 minutes

Daily 777-200ER

Condor

Frankfurt-Vancouver

14:40-15:40

60 minutes

A330neo. A fifth of its Vancouver flights meet the bill; the rest are longer

KLM

Amsterdam-Calgary

12:30-13:25

55 minutes

Daily 777-200ER

KLM

Amsterdam-Edmonton

14:30-15:20

50 minutes

Four times weekly A330-200

KLM

Amsterdam-Vancouver

15:20-15:55

35 minutes

Daily 777-300ER/777-200ER

Icelandair*

Keflavik-Kulusuk (Greenland)

17:30-18:15

45 minutes

Dash 8 Q400/Dash 8 Q200

Icelandair

Keflavik-Seattle

10:30-11:20, 16:50-17:40, 19:45-20:35

50 minutes

Triple daily 757-200ER (double daily from September 9)

Icelandair

Keflavik-Vancouver

17:15-17:55

40 minutes

Four weekly 737 MAX 8/757-200ER

Lufthansa

Frankfurt-Vancouver

13:20-14:20

60 minutes

Daily 747-400

WestJet

Edinburgh-Calgary

12:05-13:02

57 minutes

Four weekly 787-9

WestJet

Keflavik-Calgary

09:35-10:33

58 minutes

Four weekly 737 MAX 8

* Operated by Air Iceland Connect

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