cloud_9…forgive some of the dodgy aviation sequences and the MD80 with winglets
I thought that the introduction of the winglets makes it look really quite cool.:cool:
Could/should this ever be applied in reality though…?
cloud_9Broadly based on the Alaska Airlines MD-80 (or 90?) crash that occurred after the elevator jackscrew jammed.
Which crash was this…can you provide any more details so I can look at it?
cloud_9I would have thought that maintainence would also be a factor, seeing as the aircraft is flying longer distances, it will need checking over more often, wouldn’t it…?
Also, the same thing used to happen with OASiS Hong Kong Airlines’s B747 fleet when they were around. Their inbound flight used to arrive into LGW very early in the morning, and it didn’t leave until late evening. Now instead of the aircraft just sitting on the ground doing nothing all day, they used to do pilot training and did touch & go’s down at Manston airport in Kent (I know because I went on a couple of these flights!).
tenthije’s suggestion of doing another flight in between the arrival and departure would not work because the airlines would then end up having to have a seperate crew based in outstations in order to operate these flights.
I would say that Skymonster’s original point about it being to do with the time “when passengers want to travel” is the best answer though. Take flights to/from USA to the UK as another example. BA/VS/UA/AA all have just one (possibly two!) flights departing from the USA in the morning which arrive into the UK in the late evening, whereas they have quite a few more leaving in the evening that arrive early morning. The reason they do not have more flights departing in the morning is simply because the large majority of people (inc. business travellers!) will mostly want to fly overnight so that they can arrive into the UK in the morning and then go straight to work.
cloud_9Well VA seem to be able to offer IFE on their short-distance flights…SFO-LAS is only 90mins long, and SFO-LAX is just 80mins, which is about the same time as a LHR-EDI flight…?
cloud_9Update…
Sorry to bring this old thread back to life again, but it appears that JetXtra.com is planning to start-up from Humberside (and also Manchester!) again in time for the 2013 summer season…
Its still the same website as before (http://www.jetxtra.com/), however it does not have any of the previous history and/or details about the original “legal” incident with Jet2.com, which we have since learnt was not the real reason why they were initially forced to stop selling seats on their previous start-up attempt earlier this year.
By the looks of things, on this occasion they have managed to find another travel company called Independant Worldchoice Holidays and they are using their ATOL licence in order to be able to sell flights and package holidays (I’ve checked their ATOL licence number with the CAA, and it does show on their website that they hold a valid licence!), however when you look at this particular company’s website, its in a bit of a mess http://www.worldchoicesports.com/.
On JetXtra’s website, they claim that this Independant Worldchoice Holidays is “a multi-million pound company”, but this really rings alarm bells with me because their website just does not convey a professional image…surely if this company is doing as well as is claimed, they would be able to spend a bit of money on doing up their website?!
Also, on JetXtra’s Facebook page, somebody asks the question of who is going to be operating the flights and the reply states that “the Humberside flights will be operated by Orbest and Manchester by Jet2…”…yes, you read it right folks, Jet2!
Now is it me, or does anyone else think that Jet2 will more than likey not be having anything to do with this JetXtra.com outfit, especially considering the issues that surrounded their initial start-up, which led them to issuing the following statement on their own website: http://www.jet2.com/News/The_North%E2%80%99s_Leading_Leisure_Airline,_Incensed_at_JetXtra%E2%80%99s_Lies/
Please don’t get me wrong, I am really pleased to see people making an effort and trying to establish businesses as this is what the country needs if we are to get out of this economic mess that we’re in, however I can’t help but be suspicious. Who knows, maybe it will work out for them, and I hope it does, but the saying of “once bitten, twice shy” certainly comes to the forefront of my mind.
Anyone else have any thoughts.
cloud_9Indeed Matt, according to one source I read it will also be a single cabin too, so no Business Class or even an Economy Plus section…very disappointing and un-Virgin like!
Had they of chosen to do something like Virgin America, then I think they could have made quite a bit of an impact, but I am not so sure now.
cloud_9Indeed Matt, it could be very interesting, especially seeing as VS are not expected to begin receiving their A380’s until 2015…
cloud_9I am not exactly sure what the laws are on foreign ownership of UK companies…but the TATA buying Jaguar/Land Rover deal is a very good example showing that there are no limits as to what % a foreign investor can have in a company. That said though, the Jaguar/Land Rover deal was done by creating a brand new company as TATA bought both seperate businesses from Ford and then they merged them together…in respect of the DL/VS tie-up, it has been stated that both carriers will remain seperate in terms of branding and service offering.
What I was suggesting however is that if DL have the 49% they’ve just bought from SQ, and then AF/KL choose to buy a further stake in VS from SRB’s remaining 51%, then in effect they will jointly own a controlling stake in VS as DL already has a Joint Venture parternship with AF/KL.
As can be expected, there has been a bit of a war of personal words between SRB and WW; who has suggested that VS would be consigned to the history books if DL buys the 49% stake in the carrier. SRB reacted by offering to pay BA staff £1m if WW’s prediction came true, however WW has declined and instead offered a more physical wager…a knee in the groin! SRB has accepted the wager, and already stated that he is looking forward to welcoming WW to VS’s HQ to give him it.:diablo:
cloud_9Is/Has there any further updates on Bruce’s plans to rescue Astreaus as he was thinking of doing so… but nothing new has come to light as far as I am aware?
cloud_9Virgin really seem to gotten their name in the news this week…
Not only due to the VS/DL tie-up, but the announcement of EI being the chosen carrier that will wet lease VS some A320’s for their domestic flights, plus VA have announced thrice-daily flights between Newark-Liberty International (EWR) and its hubs at LAX and SFO.
As for the VS/DL tie-up…I think its good that VS has finally managed to agree a tie-up that will allow it to compete more heavily with BA because they will still be able to offer their own flights to their usual US destinations and they will also no doubt code-share on DL’s flights to/from LHR. Plus, VS customers can make use of DL’s network for domestic connections to smaller cities, and vice-versa once VS start their domestic routes (although DL already serve EDI and MAN themselves!).
And its not as if BA can/will have any reasons against the propsals, because it will be pretty much the same for VS/DL as it is for BA/AA. If however the DoT/DoJ and ECC don’t allow the tie-up to go ahead, you can expect SRB will no doubt get very angry and protest quite a lot.
One rumor that was doing the rounds earlier last week was that once DL had purchased the 49% stake in VS from SQ, it might prompt AF-KL to try to buy an additional stake in VS from SRB so that eventually AF-KL-DL own a controlling stake in them, but as far as I am aware, any ideas of SRB giving up on his 51% has been ruled out for the time being, but a lot can happen in a short period of time, and I guess it depends on whether or not the global economy begins to pick up again…
I often find this website really useful for aviation related news…here’s their article about it:
cloud_9Manston wins hands-down over Lydd…just on runway length alone.
Having visited Manston on several occasions I can honestly say that it is a great little airport that is really under-rated and under-valued.
Although I am currently more in favour of an airport in the Thames Estuary to meet our future needs, if that doesn’t get the go-ahead, I would strongly argue that Manston should play a big part in whatever plans that Government eventually publish in order to help sort out the problems of air capacity in this country.
Does anyone have any news/updates on the sale of Manston though, as the current owners Infratil had put it (and Prestwick!) on the market earlier in the year, but I havent heard anything about it since…:confused:
cloud_9Fraid not, we have 777’s in during the summer season.
The only time we might have a 747 during the summer is if/when there is a last minute aircraft substitution.
cloud_9Great livery scheme!
Good to see an airline promoting a good charity too.:)
cloud_9A fantastic selection of photos there AeroPics, thanks for sharing.:)
Favourite has to be the UA B747 one. We only get to see it during the winter/low season, but it really does look great!
I believe the Twinjet A319CJ was carrying a certain Mr D. Cameron (a.k.a Prime Minister!) onboard as he was returning back from his trip to the Middle East, or it might have been positioning into LHR in order to pick him up to take him there!;)
cloud_9Ahem, Mr Noel…where is the stunning picture of a UA 757?!:mad::diablo:
Great set of photos sir, thanks for sharing.:)
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