For pilots and stuff (airplane question)?

Question

Ok, so I went to TX the other day and about 1 or 2 hours into the flight (the flight is about 3 hours long) that I could still see the ground. But we were still high up. I asked the person next to me if this was how high it is to go across the atlantic ocean. she said yes. but im not sure cause when i went acrros he A. ocean, we were like, SOOOO high up. so yeah...

maybe its the difference between the airlines, cause across the Atlantic i was on Continental and then the other day i was on AA

Answer 1

So yea they fly different altitudes to conserve fuel and flight plans decide this so what is the question????

Answer 2

Different altitudes for different flights. It's based on winds aloft, and altitudes can vary greatly.

Answer 3

It depends on many factors.  Assigned altitudes by ATC, best altitude for fuel consumption, weather/turbulence and even the aircraft you're in.  

-ATC assigns altitudes for safety purposes and to control the flow of traffic into/out of hubs (major airports).

-GENERALLY, jet engines are more efficient at higher altitudes.  But one must consider cargo (passengers/freight) vs fuel weight.  This is a factor in what altitude(s) the crew will request when filing their flight plan.

-If the weather's bad, or there's alot of turbulence, crews will request different altitudes to smooth out the ride.  So on the same route, you could be at say FL 350 on one trip and FL310 on another because the weather's bad.

-Some smaller commuter jets have lower "service ceilings" (how high you should fly it) than others; or possibly are more efficient (better "gas mileage" for want of a better term) at lower altitudes.

Finally, depending on vis, it can seem as though you are lower than you actually are.