Why don t commercial planes fly at 45000 feet?

For starters, the engine may suffocate from a lack of oxygen. Engines work by mixing air with fuel to create combustion. The higher an airplane flies, the less air the engines will receive. Second, the airplane's wings may fail to produce a sufficient amount of lift to maintain its current and excessive altitude.



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For example, the Airbus A320 has a maximum altitude of 39,000 feet (11,900m) and the Boeing 747 45,000 feet (13,700m).

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Most commercial airplanes have a certified maximum altitude of about 40,000 to 45,000 feet. Regardless of its certified maximum altitude, if an airplane flies too high, it may fail in one or more ways. For starters, the engine may suffocate from a lack of oxygen.

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Well, considering both in-cloud and out-of-cloud turbulence, flight between 8,000 and 12,000 feet will allow for the smoothest ride, on average.”

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Because the Earth is a three-dimensional sphere and not merely a two-dimensional flat, East-West surface. Because of this spherical shape, often times the shortest distance is flying more north and south, up over the Northern latitudes and the North Pole, rather than flying east/west over the Pacific.

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Nevertheless, certain exceptional aircraft like the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 have managed to ascend to altitudes of FL600 (equivalent to 60,000 feet).

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It is powered by two engines and is the largest twin jet aircraft. The Boeing 777 is certified to fly as high as 43,100 feet, but typically cruises between 35,000-39,000 feet.

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Flying beyond the altitude of 60,000 feet entails the risks of structural failure, physiological hazards, and decreased operational efficiency. Commercial airliners are specifically engineered for lower altitudes, and exceeding these prescribed limits may also give rise to aerodynamic complications.

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If a passenger jet flies too high, it reaches a point called 'Coffin Corner'. This is the point at which the aircraft's low speed stall and high-speed buffet meet and the plane can no longer maintain its altitude which forces it to descend.

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Question: What is the highest altitude an airplane can fly? Answer: The highest commercial airliner altitude was 60,000 feet by Concorde. The highest military air-breathing engine airplane was the SR-71 — about 90,000 feet. The highest airliner flying today reaches 45,000 feet.

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When an aircraft experiences turbulence, the plane can drop or change altitude suddenly. This is why pilots always caution passengers to buckle up and stay seated when they are experiencing flight turbulence. The sudden movements put passengers at risk.

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Severe turbulence can cause a plane to drop so suddenly that pilots temporarily lose control. But, again, that's not enough to crash the plane. That's not to say it's never happened. In 1966, human error and turbulence combined to bring a plane down over Mount Fuji.

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Turbulence is a sudden and sometimes violent shift in airflow. Those irregular motions in the atmosphere create air currents that can cause passengers on an airplane to experience annoying bumps during a flight, or it can be severe enough to throw an airplane out of control. (The pilots) aren't scared at all.

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