Seeing airliners in flight.

[Joseph II]

Riding in the back seat of an airliner yesterday I noticed other airliners flying by at or near our aititude (FL370) but obvously not above or below our flightpath (I couldn't look directly up or down). The weather was good. We were somewhere over Nebraska.

Are airliners spending most of their time off-airways? If so is it because most have GPS and FMS and have filed for direct, or do they file the airways and get to "cut the corners"?

 

[leardvr]

same altitude

Keep in mind that at those altitude it is very difficult to tell the difference of 2000'. If traffic was the same direction(ish) (E or W) they could be at the same altitude but there should be 3-5NM separtion (see AIM 4-4-7)Oppisite direction it would have been at FL 350 or FL 390. Could it be the other aircraft was climbing or decending at the time you saw them?

In any case, yes lots of flying is done "off" airways with the use of such things as; FMS, GPS, RNAV, INS, even LORAN. In my flying we file /F and try to pick a route that feeds into a STAR. If your lazy you file direct and let ATC give you the routing (not my suggestion though)

 

[TurboS7]

Wait till the U.S. Airspace goes RVSM then you can wave at the airliners passengers as they go by.