What altitude do commercial airplanes cruise at?

What altitude do commercial airplanes cruise at?

between 33,000 and 42,000 feet
According to USA Today, the common cruising altitude for most commercial airplanes is between 33,000 and 42,000 feet, or between about six and nearly eight miles above sea level. Typically, aircraft fly around 35,000 or 36,000 feet in the air.

At what altitude do most commercial planes fly?

Most commercial aircraft are approved to fly at a maximum of around 42,000 feet. This maximum is also known as a ‘service ceiling. ‘ For example, for the double-decker Airbus A380 ‘superjumbo’ quadjet, this ceiling is 43,000 feet.

What altitude do fighter jets cruise at?

Most US military aircraft can exceed 50,000 feet, if they really really try. Again, the limits are classified. Most commercial jetliners cruise somewhere between 30,000 and 45,000 feet above mean sea level.

Do Jets go faster at higher altitudes?

The air gets thinner higher up as the density decreases, so air resistance is lower at higher altitudes. This means that an aircraft can fly faster and use less fuel at increased altitudes. During the flight, as the fuel is burned, the aircraft will be able to climb to a higher altitude.

Why do planes fly at 38000 feet?

Due to lower resistance at higher altitudes, commercial airplanes can keep moving forward with minimal fuel expenditure. Commercial airplanes typically fly between 32,000 feet and 38,000 feet, with the sweet spot being approximately 35,000 feet, which is popularly referred to as cruising altitude.

Why do jets fly at 35000 feet?

Those traveling in all other directions fly at even ones (32,000 feet, 38,000 feet, etc.). Planes traveling in the same direction fly 2,000 feet above or below other planes near them, to ensure they don’t collide or even get near each other. Pilots don’t determine altitude.

Can a plane fly at 60000 feet?

Answer: Every airplane has a certified maximum altitude. The highest certified altitude of an airliner was Concorde’s 60,000 feet. Today some of the corporate jets can fly at 51,000 feet.

Do you travel faster if you fly higher?

But a common questions is, do airplanes fly faster at higher altitudes? Technically, no. As altitude increases, air density decreases, which decreases engine performance but gives it better fuel efficiency. Each airplane has an optimal cruising altitude range that is the best tradeoff of speed and fuel efficiency.

Why do planes fly so high often 10 km above the ground?

Air resistance and fuel efficiency One of the main reasons commercial airplanes fly so high is air resistance. You see, the higher you go above the ground, the thinner the atmosphere becomes, and therefore, the less resistance there is on the movement of the plane.

Do planes dump toilet waste?

Blue ice, in the context of aviation, is frozen sewage material that has leaked mid-flight from commercial aircraft lavatory waste systems. Airlines are not allowed to dump their waste tanks in mid-flight, and pilots have no mechanism by which to do so; however, leaks sometimes do occur from a planes septic tank.

Do planes fly over Everest?

Tim Morgan, a commercial pilot writing for Quora says aircraft can fly above 40,000 feet, and hence it is possible to fly over Mount Everest which stands at 29,031.69 feet. However, typical flight routes do not travel above Mount Everest as the mountains create unforgiving weather.

Which is the optimum altitude for a jet engine?

The optimum cruise altitude is the altitude at which a maximum range speed is attained for a given thrust setting. Jet engine aircraft have a high optimum cruise altitude. At this optimum altitude, the quantity of oxygen is just perfect for the fuel/air mixture, and the air resistance is also mild enough.

Do you know what the cruising altitude of an airplane is?

They don’t — at least, not all the time. Even though it does always seem like the captain says, “We’ve reached our cruising altitude of 36,000ft” before switching off the seat belt sign. So what determines the altitude at which your flight cruises?

Why do planes fly at 36, 000 feet?

This stipulates that commercial airliners traveling Northeast, East, Southeast, and one degree short of South fly at odd altitudes (31,000ft, 33,000ft, etc.), while those traveling all other directions fly at even thousands (32,000, 34,000ft, etc.). Clear-air turbulence (CAT) affects altitude, as well.

Why is the altitude of a plane good or bad?

There is an ideal altitude Basically, the higher a plane flies, the thinner the air is. This is both good and bad. Good: there’s less drag on the plane, so less fuel is needed to hit the same speed. Bad: there are also fewer oxygen molecules to combust with fuel, so less power is generated.