54 minutes from runway to gate?

[Mark in CA]

Two family members have recently flown CDG --> IAD on Air France 28 (A380). In both instances the scheduled gate arrival time (12:41 pm) was 54 minutes after the scheduled runway arrival time (1:35 pm).

I didn't think IAD was that large an airport! :) So what's up with that? Is it just a built-in cushion to make the airline's on-time performance look better? I don't recall seeing anything like this before.

[Hotel Tango]

To answer your question it might be handy to know what the source is of your "runway" arrival time and "gate" arrival time? Are you looking at one of these flight following sites? If you are, treat them with a pinch of salt.

[SeenItAll]

In both instances the scheduled gate arrival time (12:41 pm) was 54 minutes after the scheduled runway arrival time (1:35 pm)

Not to be flippant :=, but if what you say (or what is being reported) is accurate, then this A380's travel from the runway to the gate is at a speed exceeding that of light. :D

[DaveReidUK]

There is no such thing as "scheduled runway arrival time".

[Piltdown Man]

Accepting Mr Reid's input I can answer that the longest I have spent taxiing was at LHR. We landed 27R and spent 47 minutes (not) taxiing to our stand at Terminal 4. Certainly not a record but a considerable waste of time and fuel.

PM

[SeenItAll]

There is no such thing as "scheduled runway arrival time"

Au contraire mon frere. FlightStats reports such a beast. See, for example: (BA) British Airways 180 Arrival Details (http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/arrivalDetails.do?id=421477561&airlineCode=BA&flightNumber=180)

[Basil]

Never used 'Runway arrival time'.
On that flightstats.com page, the Gate Scheduled Arrival time is earlier than the Runway Scheduled Arrival time :confused:

[DaveReidUK]

On that flightstats.com page, the Gate Scheduled Arrival time is earlier than the Runway Scheduled Arrival timeFlightStats.com ?

I rest my case. :ugh:

[jackieofalltrades]

FlightStats.com ?

I rest my case.

Exactly! :D

[SeenItAll]

Just to note, I was not saying that "runway arrival time" was accurate or meaningful, just that it is a measure that is reported by significant providers of consumer-grade flight information.

[RevMan2]

Flightstats.com appears to be confusing the STA for the scheduled period with the STA for a single flight event and then extrapolating the historical delta between ATA and on blocks times.
Which is fairly valueless.
All you need is the flight event information and then add an average ATA to blocks time.
If you REALLY need that level of granularity..

[Hartington]

My worst was about 2 1/2 hours at Heathrow. We landed 9L and pulled off the far end into snow in front of the old BMA hangar. Then we sat for the 2 1/2 hours until a pair of steps and one bus arrived (for a 747-100 load). I have no idea how long some of the people down the back had to wait - I was lucky in Club World.

Well Heathrow+snow = madhouse so maybe we were lucky. I think I preferred that delay than a diversion.

[vctenderness]

Nothing can compare to JFK gate to end of runway often involved an intermediate stop at holding point that could run into hours.:8

[Andy_S]

Nothing can compare to JFK gate to end of runway often involved an intermediate stop at holding point that could run into hours.:8

I never found anyone who could corroborate the story, but a former boss told me of a KLM flight leaving JFK where the cabin crew served dinner while the plane was stopped at a holding point.

[Mark in CA]

Yes, I had been looking at Flightstats.

BTW, is there an reliable online resource for determining the cause of a passenger flight's delay? In the old days, you could sometimes discover this information by going to the airlines' cargo web site. For instance, I've used United's cargo web site for this in the past, but now it doesn't seem to give this information anymore.

[tdracer]

Nothing can compare to JFK gate to end of runway often involved an intermediate stop at holding point that could run into hours.Oh does that ever bring up bad memories....
~25 years ago, JFK to LHR, TWA 747. It started bad - someone checked luggage then didn't board the airplane (this shortly after Lockerbie), so we spent an extra hour sitting at the gate while they dug through hundreds of pieces of luggage so they could remove the offending bag. Then it got worse - the extra hour causes us to miss our takeoff slot, so we were warned it would be about an hour before we could takeoff due to the 20+ planes in line in front of us.
Then they closed the airport - severe thunderstorms - and we sat. And we sat. And we sat. They'd shutdown the engines and ran ECS off the APU - which struggled to keep up on a hot summer day so it was also uncomfortably warm, and the people sitting around me did not smell good (and I doubt by that time I smelled any better:eek:). We finally took off over six hours late. Somewhere in there they finally came around with a round of soft drinks but that was it.

Andy S, no they didn't serve dinner, but they should have. When they finally served the meal after we took off, the flight attendant put the meal in front of me - I looked at it, looked at her - and she said "honest sir, it was quite appetizing 6 hours ago" :rolleyes:. Then she asked what I wanted to drink - "I'd like a beer". "You don't want a beer" - "no, really, I'd like a beer". So she took a can of beer from her cart and pressed it against my cheek - it was warmer than I was :eek:. "Sorry sir, it was cold six hours ago" :ugh: .