system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How are pilots able to make flights significantly shorter?

A flight I’ve taken many times usually takes around 3 hours. I just took the same flight and the pilot was able to get us there in just about 2 hours. My return flight we were 45 min early. How??
gpt
There’s a few ways:  1. Different altitudes have different winds. 2. Commercial aircraft rarely fly at max speed, so the can literally fly faster (at the expense of increased fuel flow). 

The key point the OP needs to know though is that it’s not up to the pilot. The airlines carefully manage flight plans (including speed etc) to ensure the overall schedule in the most cost effective manner.  Sometimes it benefits the passenger😏