# Why does it take longer to fly west to east than east to west?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-longer-to-fly-west-to-east-than-east-to-west/240618>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 18, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-longer-to-fly-west-to-east-than-east-to-west/240618 "2004-04-18T02:44:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-longer-to-fly-west-to-east-than-east-to-west/240618/21 "2004-04-18T20:53:28Z")

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And let’s also get this straight: It is Coriolis and not Coreolis.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-longer-to-fly-west-to-east-than-east-to-west/240618/22 "2004-04-18T20:58:27Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> As to Coreolis effect, I quote myself from a previous post

Yes, I agree with you. I probably should have explicitly said so.

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**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-longer-to-fly-west-to-east-than-east-to-west/240618/23 "2004-04-19T00:26:13Z")

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**David Simmons** has pegged it nicely. You don’t need to make Coriolis corrections 'cause you’re moving through an accelerating airmass.

And **Chronos** , I’m surprised at you. I think I know what you were trying to say re the slippage thing. But friction with the Earth and its rotating atmosphere is the whole point. Angular momentum _will_ be conserved and most of the energy conserved, to boot. I know, I know.

There’s a reason the prevailing winds won’t blow North-South on the planet and I think I know what it is.

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**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-longer-to-fly-west-to-east-than-east-to-west/240618/24 "2004-04-19T06:15:17Z")

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The OP couldn’t by any chance have been talking about the time zones. :rolleyes:

For instance and flight from Atlanta to Birmingham can leave at 1:30 and arrive at 1:31. That’s just a minute. However, a flight from Birmingham to Atlanta would leave at 1:30 and arrive at 3:30. That flight took 2 hours.

[sup] **A drunk at the Atlanta Airport goes to the ticket counter and asks when the flight is leaving for Birmingham. The ticket agent asks if he wants a ticket. The drunk replies “Hell no, I just want to watch it take off.”** [/sup]

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