When I fly Jetblue accross the country the speed posted on the seatback of the seat in front of me states that our speed is about 450. This seems slow for a jet; are they just trying to save money on fuel?
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Translucenteye
ANSWERS: 4
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It depends on what speed they are using - miles per hour or nautical miles per hour (knots). At cruising altitude (35,000 feet and above), 450knots would be reasonable. Most commercial aircraft travel at about 0.85 - 0.9 Mach at cruising speed. Mach 1 at these altitudes is about 570knots, so 450knots is about 0.79 Mach. It's a little slow, but probably better on economy than pushing the plane harder for higher airspeed. 450knots ground airspeed is about 520mph.
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Actually they don't save money on fuel...Planes have an optimum speed, which is the normal navigation speed, and 450 knots would be that, about 0.8 Mach, which is a bit slow perhaps...
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Whether 450 knots or 450 mph, JetBlue is a great concept and a great airline.
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A speed of 450 knots is 518 statute mph. At the altitudes they usually fly (32,000 - 38,000) that's about Mach .77 to .78 which is exactly where they should be. Many people don't realize that most of the newer airliners are actually slower than they used to be. The Boeing 727 I used to fly would leave them in the dust without even pushing it! Keep in mind GPS gives speed over the ground, not through the air. If you fly into a 100 mph wind, your ground speed would be 100 mph slower.
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