> the trick of "let's make posted flight times longer than needed, so most of our flights we'll land in time".
I might be alone, but I like that policy.
First off flight times are gate to gate (not airport to airport) so while the flight time is known and quantifiable there are a great many "ground issues" which are not. For example, the gate's motor malfunctions, push-back is delayed (while they "manually" move the gate back), and the aircraft misses its take-off slot.
The nice part about building in 10 minutes extra is that worst case scenario you arrive EARLY and you have to kick around for 10 minutes. Best case, you arrive on the stated time and your expectations are met.
Regardless this seems win/win. They're better meeting or exceeding your expectations more of the time, and the only cost is that you aren't able to min/max your travel quite to the same extent (e.g. build in even shorter transfers between flights).
Currently the minimum authorised transfer window is around 30 minutes for most airlines. While at some airports 30 minutes is fine (Dallas) at others it is terrible (Chicago). Arriving on time in the latter type of airports is a "must" if you want to make your second flight at all.
I might be alone, but I like that policy.
First off flight times are gate to gate (not airport to airport) so while the flight time is known and quantifiable there are a great many "ground issues" which are not. For example, the gate's motor malfunctions, push-back is delayed (while they "manually" move the gate back), and the aircraft misses its take-off slot.
The nice part about building in 10 minutes extra is that worst case scenario you arrive EARLY and you have to kick around for 10 minutes. Best case, you arrive on the stated time and your expectations are met.
Regardless this seems win/win. They're better meeting or exceeding your expectations more of the time, and the only cost is that you aren't able to min/max your travel quite to the same extent (e.g. build in even shorter transfers between flights).
Currently the minimum authorised transfer window is around 30 minutes for most airlines. While at some airports 30 minutes is fine (Dallas) at others it is terrible (Chicago). Arriving on time in the latter type of airports is a "must" if you want to make your second flight at all.