Originally Posted by
WHBM
Um ....... this is actually correct. The reason that transatlantic westbounds take longer than eastbounds (40 mins being a common value) is that the winds invariably blow from North America to Europe, and the reason for this is due to the rotation of the earth. The technical name for this is the Coriolis Effect.
Welllll... Actually the general circulation of winds arises from the global redistribution of heat from warm low latitudes to cold high latitudes, driven by the development of surface pressure gradients. Wind blows from high to low pressure regions, although airflow is deflected by the Coriolis force as a result of the Earth's rotation, and tends to follow more east-west trends rather than north-south trends. (Largely plagiarized)
In the Northern Hemisphere the mid-latitude winds prevail from the west and in the Southern Hemisphere the mid-latitude winds prevail from the east. So it takes longer to go from east to west in the Northern Hemisphere than it does the Southern Hemisphere. ('bout the same either way on the equator)