Transatlantic flights forced by wind to land for fuel

CBC ^ | January 11, 2012

[JRandomFreeper]

What? You can't get winds aloft when you file a flight plan now?

/johnny

[livius]

This will probably become more common. The last time I flew back from Europe (last month, not on this airline) I noticed that the plane they used was both smaller and older.

[KarlInOhio]

Which is worse, having to land in Canada for fuel or having a New York to London flight blown all the way to Warsaw before they can slow down?

[JRandomFreeper]

And apparently, math is getting harder.

/johnny

[tcrlaf]

The fuel guys at Shannon are getting a workout, it seems.

This isn’t unusual, AT ALL, we just haven’t seen much of it for a decade or so.

[jakerobins]

Obama needs to give these Airline companies Billions of Dollars so they can put new “Green” Windmills on the roof of their planes...LOL

[smokingfrog]

Pretty soon, they'll probably start canceling flights due to unfavorable winds.

[TSgt]

Reminds me of my harrowing 727 flight across the Atlantic.

Shannon to Keflavík to Gander. We were on fumes before each landing.

Miami Air was the lowest government bidder...

[US Navy Vet]

So how many of these US “Airlines” have Pilots or Aircrew sitting on their Boards or how many of them have “Ivy-League””Educated” “Business” A$$H@LES!

[JRios1968]

And apparently, math is getting harder

[the_Watchman]

I’ve made over 50 transatlantic crossings since the mid 1980’s. The only unscheduled landing was a security stop in Amsterdam on a flight from the U.S to Paris. Somebody had written a threat on the lavatory mirror.

[blueunicorn6]

So, going the other way, you just shift her into neutral and coast.

[HiTech RedNeck]

So far it looks like they have not gone out with so little fuel that it is impossible to reach even Canada. When they have to land in Greenland to get fuel, that’s when we should get nervous. But it sure plays hob with schedules, especially inconvenient for craft that carry passengers as well as cargo, when they schedule as though the fuel stop will not be needed. Now that is enough to make even a seasoned traveler cynical.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Deploy zeppelins or something like that. A jet can’t just “coast” or it will not stay aloft. It has to have a certain relative wind speed even when it has a tail wind.

[N. Theknow]

The strongest winds over the Atlantic Ocean in more than 10 years

BS!

It's not the winds.

The EU sucks!

[dools0007world]

The question is, did this business decision pan out in the short term and/or will it pan out in the longer term?

Of course there’s that other little worry. When will the first aircraft crash because it is short of fuel.

[Retired Greyhound]

I don’t like this new trend of using 757’s and A330’s for flying overseas.

I prefer more than two engines when flying trans-continental.

[Jack Hydrazine]

LOL! Ding! "This is your captain speaking. We are currently at 37,000 feet traveling a cruising speed of 493KIA with an outside temperature at a balmy -40 degrees zero. We are now in the jet stream which is running at a higher than normal speed of 170mph. This is going to allow is to kick the engines into neutral and we'll coast right into Europe and still be slightly ahead of schedule. Thanks for flying Coast To Coast Airways!"

[Jack Hydrazine]

I didn’t know 757s were ETOPS-worthy!