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.
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. |
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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.
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 |