Who makes the flight plans for the different flights, where are they made, and when are they made?

Question

I am asking because I made a flight some weeks ago from Boston to Houston. A few days before the "real" flight, I made the flight on my simulator. I searched the flight route online (there are some special sites on which you just enter the destination and departure airport, and then the right flight route is given to you, even with the actual AIRAC....), and I flew it then with the waypoints given by the program...

However, the route of the real flight was kind of different (that means to me that they must have flown some different routes, with other waypoints). So, this lead me to the question: Are the routes from A to B ever the same, or do they vary (because of winds or something)?

Answer 1

Airlines/Companies prepare ther flight plans and submit them to the 'Operations' at the airport. These are duly studied and cleared or advised different routing in case the proposed flight plan is not acceptable.

Routing may vary due to several reasons, including weather, traffic or any other factor.

Answer 2

Call 1-800 WXBRIEF

Answer 3

PC-based flight simulators are pure science fiction, and have nothing to do with what goes on in the real world of aviation.  The flight simulator will not teach you anything about how to fly an airplane, and it certainly will not give you a realistic picture of the IFR environment.

To learn about flight planning and actual instrument flight plans as used by the airlines, go to the nearest airport where they have real airplanes, and sign up for some lessons.  In ten minutes you will see the difference, and you will see what I am saying.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Companies file flight plans in the UK using a system known as AFTN I believe, but not sure if that is Worldwide. The routing of the flight itself can vary, as you state due to weather (different runways' SIDS and STARS would invariably change the route, even if the en-route section was the same), and also in the UK certain airways can be closed for military or other activities, such as gliding or parachuting nearby, so alternatives are used. These are notified so when the flight plans are produced the routing misses these sections out by using a different airway and set of reporting points, but it means the same flight can vary from day to day route wise.