How high can a passenger plane go?

Most commercial aircraft are approved to fly at a maximum of around 42,000 feet. This maximum is also known as a ‘service ceiling. ‘ For example, for the double-decker Airbus A380 ‘superjumbo’ quadjet, this ceiling is 43,000 feet. Meanwhile, for the Boeing 787-8 and -9 ‘Dreamliner,’ it is 43,100 feet.

Can commercial planes fly at 50000 feet?

Most US military aircraft can exceed 50,000 feet, if they really really try. Again, the limits are classified. Most commercial jetliners cruise somewhere between 30,000 and 45,000 feet above mean sea level.

Why do planes avoid flying over Pacific Ocean?

The main reason flight don’t go over the Pacific Ocean is because curved routes are shorter than straight routes. Flat maps are confusing as the earth itself isn’t flat. As a result the straight routes don’t offer the shortest distance.

How and why planes have to fly so high?

There are very good reasons why planes fly so high in the sky. Air resistance and fuel efficiency . One of the main reasons commercial airplanes fly so high is air resistance. You see, the higher you go above the ground, the thinner the atmosphere becomes, and therefore, the less resistance there is on the flight of the plane.

What happens if planes fly too high?

A: Air is thinner the higher up you go in our atmosphere. So if a plane flies higher than the altitude it was designed to fly it, it will be difficult to create enough lift to keep the plane up. Planes can’t just keep going up and up – at some point, the air will be too thin for them to fly.

How high do passenger jets normally fly?

A typical commercial jet (most standard flights) cruises at around 28-35,000ft (up to 6.6 miles of altitude). The main exception is Concorde which was designed to fly at a higher altitude (and hence lower wind resistance) at around 45,000ft.

How high can an unpressurized plane go?

These smaller types of airplanes rarely fly above 10,000 feet. These airplanes have unpressurized cabins, meaning that pilots would need oxygen to fly much higher. A business jet can fly at a height of up to 45,000 feet, though most cruise at 41, 000 feet.