Under what circumstances are flights moved earlier by one hour or several? [closed]

Not that long ago, I was talking with an airline passenger who was complaining about a major US airline carrier having "a habit of" moving flights earlier (that is, the opposite of a delay) to the point where he (and his party) were missing flights, including one connecting flight that had been moved up so early that it boarded while he was still on the incoming flight which was according to its original schedule. I think he was talking about all flights within the US.

Subsequently, I showed up at a US airport 4.5 hours early for a flight figuring that would be plenty of time, but after arrival found that the flight had also been moved earlier by more than four hours, and the gate had changed from one end of the airport to the opposite end (as far apart as two gates could be with an indoor connection). So sorry! Also, it's the last flight of the day on that route.

Under what conditions do airlines do this? It sure would be helpful to be able to better predict such occurrences in the future, or at least understand the causes.

Edit: This question was flagged as a duplicate of that one, which focuses on airlines moving up flights by five or ten minutes. The present question focuses on airlines moving up flights by e.g. an hour or few.

Best Answer

Airlines reschedule flights on a regular basis, moving them forward, backward, cancelling them all together. These changes are usually done several days, weeks or months in advance. But sadly MANY travelers never bother to recheck their itineraries, and thus get caught unaware by the changes. And most check in counter agents assume the traveler is paying attention, so don't point out schedule changes at check in time.

Airlines can reschedule flights on the day of travel due to a specific issue on that date (such as an incoming hurricane, severe winter storm, etc). When they make these last minute changes, they try to contact passengers via email sms or phone numbers. But if you are traveling or if you left your home number on the booking but are at work, these notifications don't get through in a timely manner.

The date the OP mentioned where there were multiple flights moved up, likely had a weather related issue at the departure airport or an upstream airport. The grumbling passenger was probably just that a grumbler, trying to get sympathy by exaggerating his situation.

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Do flights ever get moved earlier?

Can flight times change after booking? When you book a flight, you agree on its schedule. However, all airlines reserve themselves the right to change the time (and sometimes even the date) of the flight, as per their terms and conditions.

How long before a flight takes off Do the doors close?

For most airlines and on most flights, the boarding doors are actually closed about 15 minutes prior to departure. With the average boarding time being from 30 - 50 minutes before departure, this means you really have about a 15 - 35 minute window to board the plane before they close the doors at the gate.

Why do flights leave so early?

Early morning on-time performance is best explained by air traffic. As Forbes explained, airspace is less likely to be crowded in the morning as all previous flights have landed for the night. But as planes build up and wait for takeoff, air traffic controllers begin to delay departures and landings.

Can airlines change flight times?

Unfortunately in most cases airlines can change the time or even the date of your flights, according to their terms and conditions. For example, British Airways states: "The flight times shown in our timetables may change between the date of publication and the date you actually travel.

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