Flight coordinations

Flight coordinations???
Simple questions. My parents recently went on a flight to Virginia through U.S. Airways and they were unhappy with the experience. As they were coming back from Washington Dulles Airport, they noticed that they were unusually high up in the air. They approximated that they may have been a 1/2 mile or mile up ABOVE the clouds. As they were coming back, they also were not adveritsed of sudden turbulence or changes in altitude. My questions are: 1) Is it standard for pilots to fly that high up? 2) Does the destination change the flight requirements (altitude, speed, etc) 3) Shouldn't pilots (or stewardesses alike) warn passengers of possibble upcoming wind shears or turbulence? Looking forward to several wonderful replies! Thank you.
Air Travel - 6 Answers
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1 :
well to answer those questions, 1. Some fly high, some low I think is up to the pilots discretion. 2. Depends on the weather how high or low they go. 3. They're are supposed to let them know, but not necessarily before it comes...
2 :
Yes Yes No First the part about the flying way above the clouds. Clouds are not always the same height about the earth. In airline terms its referred to as a ceiling. Somethings the ceiling may be only a 1/2 a mile above the earth while other times it can be a mile or more. So flying really high above the clouds isn't a big deal. Now about your second question. Yes everything changes with each flight, altitude, speed, and even the route will vary a little. Now about turbulence. Most times pilots don't know that they're about to hit turbulence. That's like saying "why didn't the weather guy tell me about the wind that just hit me" Most of the time you don't see it coming. HAPPY FLYING
3 :
Maybe it was low lying cloud???? Pilots wouldn't put passengers lives in danger. As for the turbulence, yes your parents should have been warned about it and be told to stay seated with belts on for thier own safety. Sorry they had a bad flight.
4 :
umm the clouds could opf been low that day and it dosnt matter how high the airplane is the pilot knows how high he should fly. turbulance can occur wihtout notice so they can not a;ways tell you when it is goping to happen. and seeing as how an airplane flies at an altitude of 35,000-40,000 feet then it is most likly tat they were a mile to half a mile aboce the clouds. airplanes are deisgned to fly that high it is more efficiant at such heights. but considering the airline then you can put some blame on them but most of it is no ones falt.
5 :
Yes, yes, and no. It is normal for pilots to fly the planes high up, that is what planes were made for. Sometimes they adjust how high up they are, based on the weather. If there is a lot of turbulence, they will fly a little higher/lower...depending on where they get the smoothest ride. Or sometimes they try to fly around it. When pilots know (or expect) turbulence, they will generally turn on the seatbelt sign. Common sense would tell me that there is going to be some turbulence then. I know most of our pilots come over the PA and announce the seatbelt sign was turned on, and to be seated for safety. A lot of times, us flight attendants find out there is turbulence, the same time the passengers do. There have been times where it has been completely smooth...and then all of a sudden hit some turbulence out of nowhere. This is why we recommend that you only get up if you have to...and while you are seated, to keep your seatbelt fastened.
6 :
1) If they fly high (that's whay they call it AIRPLANE), this normal. Traffic, weather as well as less use of fuel due to wind. If they were scared, they should have taken the train. 3) How pilots and/or flight attendants would know when turbulence is coming???? You parents left and arrive alive, so they had a good flights.