Flight Time and Headwind or Tailwind
Does it take longer to travel from Hawaii to California because of headwinds? And is it faster to travel
from California to Hawaii because of tailwinds? Which direction is the wind blowing in the Pacific, east
or west?
- question from Clayton Salvador
The concept of headwinds and tailwinds and their effect on east-to-west or west-to-east travel times was first
explored in a very similar question on travel times between Bombay and Los
Angeles. In that answer, we explained that the trip from India to California is so much faster than than the
return trip because of the effect of wind over the latitudes in question. These wind directions are further
explained and depicted in another question we answered on travel times between
London and New York. The diagram in that question illustrates that the
predominant winds over much of the Northern Hemisphere are referred to as the Prevailing Westerlies because they
blow from the west and to the east. So the scenario you describe in your question is actually the opposite of what
really happens. The faster trip is from Hawaii to California since this direction results in a tailwind.
- answer by Doug Jackson, 15 September 2002
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