At which point? My understanding, from someone who would know, is that the 777 wasn't really suitable until they reached the -300. At that point Boeing pitched the 777 and 767-400 against the 380 and 330. Their pricing was apparently appalling, assuming that QF was a Boeing airline, and wouldn't look elsewhere.
I'd heard similar scuttlebutt conversation (most likely from people who didn't know) around the Boeing vs Airbus pricing and the A330-2xx and A330-3xx pricing being rock bottom to get QF to sign up to the 380's. However the operating costs of the 380 for flights > 9hrs proved to be significantly higher than those offered up by Airbus during the evaluation phase.
The biggest issue with the 380 was always commercial. If you put a decent payload on it, then it was quite competitive. But, finding 450 people for each flight is much harder than finding 300.
It’s a cost, but only a one off cost, and if that breaks an expensive tie to an overpriced manufacturer, then it will be well worth it. Engineers tend to be qualified on both makers types anyway, as they also contract service other airlines. Cabin crew training on the equipment is pretty low key anyway. So that leaves you with the pilots, and even then I don’t think there was a great deal more to it than a normal conversion. They didn’t have separate ground school and sim training for the ex Boeing people. You did the AB course, and if you needed more at the ‘end’ then it was extended. I think the flying side was a bit longer, but as that’s on revenue service, it doesn’t have a great cost.
Ah, I recall that event. Caused by cabin crew not following company procedures, and it would have happened on aircraft from either maker. It was a requirement that the doors never be opened without coughpit permission, and they skipped that step. As did the gate operator, who also was not supposed to move a gate back towards the aircraft without specific permission.
Well, I’m anti 737 Max. It’s not in the same league as the XLR/NEO. 787 and 350-1000 aren’t really competitors either. The 350 is, by far, the best choice for the ULR ops, though the mid sized 787s might be ok for the thinner routes. But, I’m now strongly anti Boeing, and until they pull their finger out, I wouldn’t buy any of their products. The 747-400 ER might be the last decent thing they made.
What was James Strong like? I thought that he was a great ambassador (if that's the right word) for motorsport, what with Qantas sponsoring the Australian Grand Prix (MotoGP and F1, I think).
If you came across a flight plan that wasn't for a flight you were actually doing, and you noticed a gross error, would you alert 'operations'?
The scenario is fairly unlikely, as working pilots would rarely have much interest in another's plans. In any event, they're normally only available about an hour before departure, and so their owners would be looking at them at the same time as me, if not earlier. I'm pretty happy that they'd pick up anything.
Absolutely! On the cover of the page is the flight number, date, aircraft rego and captain. So if any one of those was wrong you could tell straight away.
How can I say this? How about, he was the best of the last three CEOs.
There probably isn't as much weight on the nose gear as you might imagine. The moment arm to the rear doors is quite long. I'd have to admit being surprised that it's a problem, but I suspect that if it's become a procedure then they might have had an issue to base it upon.
It wouldn't be an issue. The problem is too much weight at the rear, so if nobody would go via the rear stairs, it would simply mean that there would be even more weight towards the front.
Besides an aircraft being at the gate with the nosewheel off the ground and the aircraft sitting on its rear are there any other indicators (sensors) that would let the tech / ground crew know the CofG is no longer forward of the wing.
mentourpilot.com
This is known as aircraft teetering (not to be confused with teething). It has been as issue with light loads and plenty of freight. Cabin crew will now be monitoring the flow of passengers in the aisle. If disembarkation is delayed or a steady flow can’t be achieved the will redirect passengers to the forward exit.
The nose oleo would be extended more than normal, I usually notice this as I do my walk around and a large gap between the stairs or aerobridge and the aircraft.
Once upon a time I did get called in to a certain operator’s office posing that same question. To which I reminded them that diversions would cost them more and that it was my prerogative as the pilot in command.
Yes that’s true. But we’re not talking about ridiculous extra amounts of fuel. I like to carry an extra 30mins on a good day depending on the location which is about 1 tonne of fuel extra. To carry that fuel to the destination would only require a burn of about 50 - 75kg.
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There are legal implications to such behaviour. For instance, replying that you'd be happy to come and see them, but will be bringing along a representative from CASA would have them suddenly lose interest in seeing you.
No. There is a cost of carriage. In very rough figures, you'll burn any additional fuel in 24 hours. So, a 12 hour flight would burn about half of any extra. A one hour domestic would use about 5% of it.
The counters of beans assume that things would have gone their way, if you hadn't carried extra. So, it you put some on because you were concerned about the possibility of a diversion going in to Dubai, and that extra wasn't actually burnt, but its mere presence allowed you to continue, then they would have no idea of that outcome, and would simply assume that their lower figure would have been okay too.Yes that’s true. But we’re not talking about ridiculous extra amounts of fuel. I like to carry an extra 30mins on a good day depending on the location which is about 1 tonne of fuel extra. To carry that fuel to the destination would only require a burn of about 50 - 75kg.
The bean counters do cringe a lot including trying out single engine taxi into the bay and not turning on the APU so early, or at all if ground power is available once we’ve chocked
