This messgae goes to any pilot like Whiskey Delta, Softlad, Wysiwyg and any others. When you become a pilot, do you always stay with the same aircraft, or do you have a particular base and swap aircraft from time to time?
Ta very much, captainben :confused: 😉
By: Arabella-Cox - 25th May 2004 at 16:09
Thanks for the help!
By: wysiwyg - 25th May 2004 at 00:31
Well this couldn’t have been a better time to ask me this. I’m currently sitting in a hotel room while having to do 5 days out of NCL. Last week I was called out from standby with 75 minutes notice to spend 3 days operating out of MAN. Our lifestyle is becoming a touring one and that is why I am leaving. If I’m going to be away from home like this I want to drinking Mr and Mrs Skycruisers’ drinks cabinet in Hong Kong or touring a vineyard in Capetown, not doing minimum rest in a UK airport hotel!
By: Whiskey Delta - 24th May 2004 at 20:03
There have been trips where I have kept an aircraft for 3 days and others where I’ve switched nearly every leg. A few of the deciding factors are type of flying, length of sit time and length of overnights. At my company even though we fly only one type of aircraft we have 5 different versions that can be dispatched. We have the following:
EMB-135ER
EMB-135LR Increased engine power, fuel capacity and weight limits over ER
EMB-145ER
EMB-145LR Increased engine power, fuel capacity and weight limits over ER
EMB-145XR Increased engine power, fuel capacity and weight limits over LR
Type of flying: Long segment length requires the long range aircraft. Short segments with a lot passengers with large bags require an aircraft that has the highest zero-fuel weight. Short segments with moderate cargo weights will get a different series of aircraft. An EMB-145XR can be used for any type of flying but not every aircraft we have is an XR model. That means that we can run into problems where aircraft limitations will lower the amount of pax or cargo we can take. Less pax/cargo = less $$ which isn’t good. For us the EMB-135/145 ER’s really suck. We’re constantly running to zero-fuel weight issues on certain routes and at times those are the only aircraft available in the system.
Those types of issues are pretty unique to our type of operation.
Length of sit time: If a crew has been scheduled a several hour sit time in a hub most likely their previous aircraft will be redispatched and they’ll switch to a later inbound aircraft for their next leg. Short turns in a hub usually mean you keep the same plane but no always as your next leg might require a different type of aircraft.
Length of Overnight: Just like sit time, if you have a long overnight the aircraft you brought in the previous night will most likely depart on an early morning flight and you’ll end up taking out an aircraft that arrives later in the day.
If your schedule is pretty similar day to day you’ll have a better chance of keeping the same plane. I also think the more you like the airplane you’re flying the more likely you are to have it taken away and be redispatched some hunk of junk. 😉
Sign In
May 24, 2004 at 7:26 pm