I recently arrived back in London after a quick trip to New Zealand to visit my grandma who is unwell.
This was the first time I did the journey via Los Angeles, and the stark difference in travel time between the outbound and return legs stood out to me. The return flights were both 2-3 hours shorter, shaving almost 5 hours off an already very long journey.
I learnt that this shorter-journey phenomenon is due to the west-to-east jet streams at 30,000 feet, where pilots are able to use them to fly faster and with greater fuel economy.
It got me reflecting on how sometimes in life, regardless of how hard we try (or fast we fly), there can be tailwinds that aid us, or headwinds that slow us down, on our way to our goals. And often, just like the decision to purchase the best value airfare means we don’t consider the direction of travel, we find ourselves in circumstances with headwinds or tailwinds outside our control.
Most of the time, we can try and do something about our situation. Other times, it’s best to buckle up and be patient.