Flights across the country are breaking plane speed records due to a fast-flowing jet stream, and that means commercial jets are landing earlier and earlier at airports on the East Coast.
How early? Here are some of the quickest flights arriving on the East Coast from the past few days, when a plane from Los Angeles to London topped out at 801 miles per hour, technically meaning it was traveling faster than the speed of sound.
Chicago-O’Hare to Boston
Average flight time for commercial airline: About 2 hours and 15 minutes
American Airlines flight 2384 on Tuesday morning: Arrived 22 minutes early
Denver to Boston
Average flight time for commercial airline: About 3 hours and 50 minutes
United Airlines flight 386 on Tuesday evening: Arrived 34 minutes early
Los Angeles to Boston
Average flight time for commercial airline: About 5 hours and 40 minutes
JetBlue flight 288 on Tuesday morning: Arrived 54 minutes early
Seattle-Tacoma to New York-John F. Kennedy
Average flight time for commercial airline: About 5 hours and 20 minutes
Delta Air Lines flight 2968 on Monday night: Arrived 26 minutes early
San Francisco to New York-John F. Kennedy
Average flight time for commercial airline: About 5 hours and 45 minutes
Delta Air Lines flight 1415 on Tuesday morning: Arrived 47 minutes early
Of course, planes flying against the jet stream aren’t breaking any records. According to The Washington Post, flights headed west out of New England and the New York area will likely incur 20 or 30 extra minutes of travel time, either slowed by the jet stream or forced to divert around it.
Isaac Feldberg of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Peter Bailey-Wells can be reached at peter.bailey-wells@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @pbaileywells.