Quantcast

Transatlantic flights where you arrive before you leave

Spirit Airlines Explores Bankruptcy Filing
Airlines turn to AI to allocate gates and cut waiting times
American Airlines Passengers Save Woman from Alleged Violent Male Companion on Flight
Garuda Indonesia and Japan Airlines (JAL) Form Joint Business Agreement — What To Know
Here's how Southwest Airlines' new seating and boarding process will work
Delta Adds New Route to Asia
Southwest Airlines will begin selling assigned seats in 2025
United Airlines Pilot Buys Passengers Pizza In Albuquerque After Flight Was Delayed 7 Hours
Czech Airlines to Cease Operations, Ending 23-Year SkyTeam Partnership
An Asian airline hopes launching one of the world's longest narrowbody routes will actually be a comfort upgrade for passengers
Airlines begin canceling flights, offering rebooking ahead of Hurricane Helene
Southwest Airlines to cut service and staffing in Atlanta to slash costs
New heights, new features: Discover Alaska’s enhanced Flight Pass subscription service
Alaska Airlines completes acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, expanding benefits and choice for travelers
American Airlines welcomes JetSMART to the award-winning AAdvantage program
Explore Japan for free? Japan Airlines offers free domestic flights to foreign travelers
Delta named Official Airline Partner of Birmingham City Football Club
American Airlines to Cut These Routes to Las Vegas, Orlando, and More — Here's Why
Alaska Airlines completes acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, expanding benefits and choice for travelers
Southwest wouldn't really start charging for bags — right?
JD Power ranked this Midwest airport as the best among largest airports in North America
Alaska Airlines Chief Plans More Routes After a Deal With Hawaiian
Air Canada could begin suspending flights soon as strike deadline nears
JetBlue's new ticket policy entitles every passenger to a carry-on bag
Why United Airlines’ CEO makes as few decisions as possible
American invests in the future of aviation maintenance with new jobs, additional work
DOT probe seeks to determine if frequent flyer programs are fair to travelers
American Airlines flight diverted after passenger starts vaping
Russian Airline Wants $100 Million From Canada for Seizing Its Giant Cargo Plane
Here's where American Airlines is adding flights to Europe in summer 2025
Transatlantic flights where you arrive before you leave
Policy
Webp ymhfjf407emv9o42iza31o4oyd1u
Justin Foster Private Aviation Journalist | Simple Flying

Three transatlantic routes arrive up to 30 minutes before departing due to the time zone change being greater than the block time. Fewer than one in 1,000 flights across the Atlantic 'time travel'. An additional 12 links arrive within 60 minutes of leaving (in local time).

Flights that arrive before they leave are intriguing. The most famous examples involved Concorde: BA001 left Heathrow at 10:30 and arrived at New York JFK at 09:25 local time, while AF002 departed Paris CDG at 10:15 and arrived at 08:15. While numerous short-haul examples exist, the situation differs for long-haul flights, including those across the Atlantic.

Using Cirium data to examine all scheduled summer passenger services between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, etc., across the Atlantic to the Americas indicates that just three routes made the cut. They are summarized below.

Get the Newsletter
Sign-up to receive weekly round up of news from Sky Industry News
By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By providing your phone number you are opting in and consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from our short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

Between July 1 and September 21 (the last day of the season for these routes), these three collectively have 81 departures (each way). As such, fewer than one in 1,000 transatlantic flights 'time travel.'

The specific routes are as follows:

- Condor's Frankfurt-Anchorage route departs at various times (14:10-13:50, 14:30-14:10, and 15:00-14:40) and arrives 20 minutes before departure. This service operates thrice weekly with an A330neo and ends for the season on September 14.

- Discover's Frankfurt-Anchorage route departs at 14:20 and arrives at 13:50, arriving 30 minutes before departure. This service operates twice weekly with an A330-300 and ends for the season on September 21.

- Finnair's Helsinki-Seattle route departs at 16:40 and arrives at 16:00, arriving 20 minutes before departure. This service operates thrice weekly with an A350-900 and ends for the season on August 31. The oneworld route began in 2022.

Given so few services arrive before they leave, another table lists transatlantic airport pairs that arrive no more than 60 minutes after taking off (local time). This is based on examining all flights between July and September.

Notably included is Greenland's inclusion using turboprops by Icelandair* operating Keflavik-Kulusuk (Greenland) route from Keflavik departing at different times (17:30-18:15) with a Dash Q400/Q200 aircraft arriving within a timeframe of up to about a maximum of around an hour or less compared to other airline pairs mentioned below.

The specific routes are:

- Air Canada’s Dublin-Vancouver route departs at various times such as (10;15 -11;15) four weekly 787 -9 aircraft

-Ai France’s Paris CDG-Vancouver daily 777 -200ER

-KLM’s Amsterdam-Calgary Daily 777 -200ER

-KLM’s Amsterdam-Edmonton Four times weekly A330 -200

-KLM’s Amsterdam-Vancouver Daily 777 -300ER/777 -200ER

-Icelandair* Keflavik-Kulusuk(Dash Q400/Q200)

-Icelandair Keflavik-Seattle Triple daily from September onwards(757 –200ER )

-Icelandair Keflavik-Vancouver Four weekly(737 MAX8/757 –200ER)

-Lufthansa Frankfurt –Vancouver Daily(747–400)

-WestJet Edinburgh-Calgary Four Weekly(787 –9)

-WestJet Keflavik-Calgary Four Weekly(737MAX8)

###

Organizations Included in this History
More News

Long Beach Airport has announced a new daily nonstop service to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) through Southwest Airlines.

Jun 7, 2025

Lidl workers in Belgium initiated a strike and blockades on June 5, following similar actions in France and Italy.

Jun 6, 2025

Delta Air Lines is expanding its flight offerings for the 2025 pro football season, introducing new routes and increasing capacity to accommodate fans traveling to major games.

Jun 6, 2025

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen addressed the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee, emphasizing the urgent need to reform the nation's air traffic control (ATC) infrastructure.

Jun 6, 2025

Last month, over 130 volunteers from Delta Air Lines and several partner organizations collaborated to construct a new playground in College Park, Georgia.

Jun 6, 2025

Walking together on Omaha Beach, 19-year-old college student Caleb Walker and 101-year-old WWII veteran Jack Myers reflected on the sacrifices made during the D-Day invasion.

Jun 6, 2025