Posted on 01/11/2012 8:24:53 AM PST by george76
The strongest winds over the Atlantic Ocean in more than 10 years have forced dozens of Continental Airlines flights from Europe to the eastern U.S. to make unscheduled refuelling stops in Canada and elsewhere, a report says.
The fuel stops at airports such as Gander, N.L., and Halifax are partly the result of a decision by parent United Airlines to use smaller jets on the overseas flights. The strategy works in light winds and saves money on fuel and crew costs, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Using Boeing 757s on flights that approach their 7,400-kilometre range, the airline doesn't leave much room for error in estimating fuel when the twin-engine planes are flying into strong headwinds, the paper says. The result has been delays for passengers and added operating costs.
...
flights to east coast destinations have been forced to stop for fuel at places such as Gander, Goose Bay, N.L., Iceland, Ireland, Albany, N.Y., and New Windsor, N.Y., north of Manhattan.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
/johnny
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.
/johnny
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.
Obama needs to give these Airline companies Billions of Dollars so they can put new “Green” Windmills on the roof of their planes...LOL
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...
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!
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.
So, going the other way, you just shift her into neutral and coast.
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.
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.
BS!
It's not the winds.
The EU sucks!
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.
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.
I didn’t know 757s were ETOPS-worthy!
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