Aviation Discussion

[fowler9]

Given that Belarus requires visas even for transit for most nationalities it must have been a preplanned agreement.

I've never had a diverted flight, anyone else had an interesting diversion?

Yeah, had a brilliant Ryanair diversion from Warsaw Modlin to Warsaw Chopin. The Captain apologised for some reason. What a disaster, I'll be in the hotel sooner and have to pay less to get there.

 

[WestCoast]

Have Flybe tarted up some of their Dash 8 Q 400's. ?

Was on the 0900 from SOU to GLA this Morning and said beast had Blue Coloured Seats that seemed more substantial than the nomal Grey Livery variety.

Wondered if newer models have better seating - seemed a lot better than the normal Q400 offering.

Probably one of the new (well, second hand) Q400s Flybe have acquired from Republic in the US, glad to hear they have nicer seating

 

[atillathehunn]

One that Butts will appreciate: Just booked Norwich-Exeter on Flybe for £22...madness!

Don't forget the £10 departure fee for Norwich airport...

 

[AlterEgo]

Don't forget the £10 departure fee for Norwich airport...

Hadn't forgotten, but still a fab deal.

 

[atillathehunn]

Given that Belarus requires visas even for transit for most nationalities it must have been a preplanned agreement.

I've never had a diverted flight, anyone else had an interesting diversion?

Diversion to Charleroi after the Brussels bomb.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Hadn't forgotten, but still a fab deal.

No doubt a great deal! The sting in the tail is on the part of NWI not Flybe

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There is mention in the current Air Britain News that Emirates is now using A380s on the nine times daily short distance shuttle between Dubai and Doha...

 

[Bletchleyite]

There is mention in the current Air Britain News that Emirates is now using A380s on the nine times daily short distance shuttle between Dubai and Doha...

Not uncommon to use big aircraft on short routes in countries with poorly developed rail and/or road networks. Thai sometimes use 777s on Chiang Mai<->Bangkok - and with not so many passengers, little luggage and a couple of hours' fuel they take off like stink...

 

[Butts]

One that Butts will appreciate: Just booked Norwich-Exeter on Flybe for £22...madness!

You seriously overpaid there

Was on the 0610 EDI -LGW this Morning one of the last ever "free breakfast" services on BA.

I thought it would be quiet as Going to Gatwick but it was rammed and I ended up as "piggy in the middle" on an A319 - not a pleasant experience leg and shoulder room wise :cry:

However I got my breakfast and very nice it was to - for what it is !!!

Going back up today on a "Flat Fare" courtesy of The Chieftain so will be enjoying the return ambience a lot more .

 

[berneyarms]

There is mention in the current Air Britain News that Emirates is now using A380s on the nine times daily short distance shuttle between Dubai and Doha...

To be clear, the A380 is only being used on one of the nine return flights.

There are other cases of traditionally long haul aircraft being regularly used on short haul flights - Iberia for example use both Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft on certain flights on the Madrid-London Heathrow route, while BA use Boing 767 on domestic and short haul European routes.

 

[AlterEgo]

To be clear, the A380 is only being used on one of the nine return flights.

There are other cases of traditionally long haul aircraft being regularly used on short haul flights - Iberia for example use both Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft on certain flights on the Madrid-London Heathrow route, while BA use Boing 767 on domestic and short haul European routes.

Cathay operate A330s, A340s and 777s all over the Far East - on flights of less than 3 hours in length.

 

[gsnedders]

Not uncommon to use big aircraft on short routes in countries with poorly developed rail and/or road networks. Thai sometimes use 777s on Chiang Mai<->Bangkok - and with not so many passengers, little luggage and a couple of hours' fuel they take off like stink...

Heck, huge numbers of domestic flights in Japan are 777s, and some 787s; mostly routes where the Shinkansen doesn't go or takes too long, but many of them shorter than, e.g., London–Madrid.

 

[atillathehunn]

There is mention in the current Air Britain News that Emirates is now using A380s on the nine times daily short distance shuttle between Dubai and Doha...

To deviate wildly, I've found what might be the shortest scheduled A380 service in the world while putting together an intinerary: EK841/842 from DXB-DOH.

Coming in at just 378km and a typical flight time of 50 minutes (from flightradar), which one assumes must include a fair amount of taxi time as well.

I'm sure there's a record somewhere on the most amount of champagne guzzled in business class on the little hop.

As I pointed out a few weeks back
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

To be clear, the A380 is only being used on one of the nine return flights.

There are other cases of traditionally long haul aircraft being regularly used on short haul flights - Iberia for example use both Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft on certain flights on the Madrid-London Heathrow route, while BA use Boing 767 on domestic and short haul European routes.

I've been on a 767 LHR - MAN and LHR - AMS, both barely worth taking off for in the first place!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

To be clear, the A380 is only being used on one of the nine return flights.

ABN specifically says it's going to be all nine shortly; it's at home so I haven't got the date available but it specifically stated:

9D to A388

 

[atillathehunn]

ABN specifically says it's going to be all nine shortly; it's at home so I haven't got the date available but it specifically stated:

9D to A388

Intriguing. There's no mention on the Emirates route page on flyertalk.com and a dummy booking on the Emirates website for a random return in a couple of months time shows the usual once dailing A380 and the rest as B777.

However they do have a bit of spare capacity so it might well come to pass.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If I remember, I'll have a look tonight and quote the whole passage.

 

[miami]

Heck, huge numbers of domestic flights in Japan are 777s, and some 787s; mostly routes where the Shinkansen doesn't go or takes too long, but many of them shorter than, e.g., London–Madrid.

JAL-123 which crashed in 1985 was a Tokyo-Osaka flight - 249 miles (Same as LHR-Newcastle), operated by a 747, with 509 passengers on board.

 

[Butts]

Don't forget the £10 departure fee for Norwich airport...

It's a right rip off , do any other UK Airports levy a similar surcharge ?

 

[AlterEgo]

It's a right rip off , do any other UK Airports levy a similar surcharge ?

Is it the case that this £10 is simply not included in the airport charges levied on the carrier? Most of a bargain basement airfare is taxes and fees, and I got the impression from my very low fare that this £10 was simply "missing". I think Newquay and Durham Tees Valley have similar charges.

 

[Spamcan81]

Given that Belarus requires visas even for transit for most nationalities it must have been a preplanned agreement.

I've never had a diverted flight, anyone else had an interesting diversion?

December 1990 I was flying to Warsaw in a Tu-134. Got diverted to Poznan because of fog at our intended destination. We used a lot, and I mean a lot, of the runway on our landing. After a while a report came through that the fog had cleared and we would be able to resume our journey to Warsaw. The pilot had other ideas however and he refused to take off fully loaded as he considered the runway not long enough - that explained the landing. The luggage hold was emptied and he took off without us. On going to collect our bags were informed that our bags had been loaded on the BA Warsaw flight but that had been diverted to Vienna. :roll:

 

[berneyarms]

It's a right rip off , do any other UK Airports levy a similar surcharge ?

Not in the UK, but Ireland West airport (Knock) has a €10 development fee payable at the airport by all passengers over 12 years of age.

 

[atillathehunn]

Is it the case that this £10 is simply not included in the airport charges levied on the carrier? Most of a bargain basement airfare is taxes and fees, and I got the impression from my very low fare that this £10 was simply "missing". I think Newquay and Durham Tees Valley have similar charges.

The Newquay charge was £5 and it got scrapped last year (possibly year before).

AlterEgo is right though, Durham Tees Valley charges £6 for adults and £2 for children. Cheeky.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If I remember, I'll have a look tonight and quote the whole passage.

I checked, and I have a red face. I missed a one in brackets which indicates that yes it is still just one out of the nine at the moment.

It actually says: "...to A388 9D (1)"

 

[Bletchleyite]

I've never had a diverted flight, anyone else had an interesting diversion?

I've had two, one from Luton to East Mids in the days when the Luton runway closed strictly at midnight (resulted in getting home at 5am), and another from Edinburgh to Glasgow due to fog. Both of them were appallingly managed, with staff disappearing and leaving people to work out where the coach they put on was by themselves.

 

[atillathehunn]

I checked, and I have a red face. I missed a one in brackets which indicates that yes it is still just one out of the nine at the moment.

It actually says: "...to A388 9D (1)"

Strange phrasing. This will be the EK841/842 rotation I posted ages ago as the shortest A380 scheduled flight.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

That's simply how they tabulate it in Air Britain News to save print space. It follows the date and route and is basically type and frequency. Saves them having to write a lot of words for a simple change to a route.

 

[atillathehunn]

That's simply how they tabulate it in Air Britain News to save print space. It follows the date and route and is basically type and frequency. Saves them having to write a lot of words for a simple change to a route.

Do they give the route number as well? Would be handy for route planning if you wanted to get/avoid a certain type of aircraft.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Do they give the route number as well? Would be handy for route planning if you wanted to get/avoid a certain type of aircraft.

No, but sometimes you will find the flight numbers in the text if there is more detail being given. This is usually done if there is a special reason, such as a one-off substitution being planned or the final flights of a type within a specific airline.

For example, under Adria Airways in the December 2016 issue it says:

"It will operate its final Canadair Regional-Jet 200 service on 30th November 2016 from Ljubljana to Prague as JP568/9."


( Remember the printed edition mostly repeats stuff that's been on the online edition, so the printed edition may show future tense for things that have already happened ).

 

[atillathehunn]

No, but sometimes you will find the flight numbers in the text if there is more detail being given. This is usually done if there is a special reason, such as a one-off substitution being planned or the final flights of a type within a specific airline.

For example, under Adria Airways in the December 2016 issue it says:

"It will operate its final Canadair Regional-Jet 200 service on 30th November 2016 from Ljubljana to Prague as JP568/9."


( Remember the printed edition mostly repeats stuff that's been on the online edition, so the printed edition may show future tense for things that have already happened ).

Thanks for the explanation. I've never read a copy. My interest in aviation is relatively new found and largely a result of increased travel, rather than as a result of reading books and magazines like I do for railways.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Ultra low A400M flew over Godmersham this afternoon. Thing of beauty!

 

[Techniquest]

Not in the UK, but Ireland West airport (Knock) has a €10 development fee payable at the airport by all passengers over 12 years of age.

Is it? I didn't pay such a fee when I visited that airport a couple of years ago!