Commercial flights cruise at exactly thirty-five thousand feet primarily because the air is incredibly thin, which allows the plane to fly faster while burning significantly less jet fuel.

A closer look

Commercial flights cruise at exactly thirty-five thousand feet primarily because the air is incredibly thin, which allows the plane to fly faster while burning significantly less jet fuel. It also happens to be just high enough to avoid birds, most nasty weather systems, and the suffocating reality of the surface world below. The downside is that at this altitude, the outside temperature is roughly minus sixty degrees Fahrenheit and the air pressure would knock you unconscious in about fifteen seconds. We willingly strap ourselves into a pressurized aluminum tube flying through an utterly inhospitable death zone just to save a few hours visiting in-laws we do not even like. The miracle of human flight is truly magnificent until you realize it is just a highly optimized system for transporting disgruntled tourists!