Do US inbound flights usually arrive ahead of schedule?

ThePiedPiper

I'm flying to Chicago in a couple of weeks, just trying to plan a couple of details around the trip.

What's the recommended amount of time to arrive at the airport if flying to the USA? I know people used say to arrive at least 3 hours, but presumably, Terminal 2 has made things a bit more streamlined? Maybe not..

Other question is whether most flights from US to Ireland arrive ahead of the advertised arrival time? One of my friends who was living in Chicago said a couple of his flights were early, but is this the norm?

Layinghen

Can't answer the first part of your question as I don't use Dublin airport.

Regarding the second part, it all depends on the wind. I have been on transatlantic flights which were literally blown across and landed nearly an hour ahead of schedule.

ThePiedPiper

Cheers Layinghen. I suppose the rule is that it could land up to an hour early, but not to count on it I suppose. Thanks.

Layinghen

Not a problem. Enjoy your trip, I am more than a little envious.

athtrasna

Three hours is still the recommended time ahead of your flight, if your flight pre-clears immigration and customs in Dublin. Queues for security and immigration are often lengthy and when you're spending that much on a flight it's better to be safe than sorry.

ThePiedPiper

Cheers athtrasna. Grand, I'll aim to be in checkin for about 3 hours beforehand then so.. Thanks for that.

endofrainbow

All airline flight timings have padding built in to their schedules and flight duration is usually from wheels up to wheels down and doesn't take into consideration taxiing to/from runway etc.

Depending on tail winds but yes, transatlantic from west to east usually arrive earlier than scheduled.

I wouldn't recommend leaving less than 3 hours for an international flight - particularly if you need to pre-clear Customs and Immigration.

Dublinflyer

The Majority of airlines, with one notable Irish exception, use push and on block times for their schedules especially at the busier US airports. I always find it annoying when you look at a flight that says 3 hours and you are over 4 on the aircraft. It can take over 30 mins from touchdown to gate if it is busy in the likes of JFK or ORD and if you build your schedules on wheels down you will have a lot of pax missing connections. Depending on the runway in use in Amsterdam it's a 20 min taxi just to the hold point, without and other traffic to delay you. The last time I was there I though he was driving back to Dublin!!

iusedtoknow

I find that the flight from the US to Ireland is a lot faster than their stated times - you can often get from NY to DUB in less than 6 hours.
The issues as mentioned are the holding times at airports - I have been held in a queue of 35 aircraft at JFK before - not nice at all.

From Europe, you usually have a strong headwind which makes the flight time from the airline more realistic (you're going against the gulf stream). I remember one time flying LHR-SFO and the headwind was 100km, which meant our speed was 100 less than the pilots wanted.

As for airport times...3 hours is pretty much accurate for Dublin, the last time I went through I was moving pretty much the whole time. Normal security->US border -> US Security ->queueing to get on the plane.

Dublinflyer

I once managed to make it from check in, through security, CBP, TSA and made it to the plane in just over an hour. Not by design as I was just very late that morning and made it by the seat of my pants. I could hear my name getting called as I ran to the end of the pier, why is it always the end gate when you are late? I would not recommend anything less than 2.5 hours for a pleasant trip through Dublin airport. I was very very lucky to make the flight and a few very nice people let me jump ahead in the queues when I asked.