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Everyone
hates aircraft delays. Passengers, crew, and the airlines
themselves.
The
reasons for these delays can be: mechanical, weather,
passenger,(Yes your fellow
passenger !),
Air Traffic Control, catering, crewing, or baggage
and cargo loading. I
will try and discuss each of these reasons (excuses?)
for a delay.
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Mechanical...You
might drive your car with a flat battery, but a respected
airline will not. Large passenger jet planes have
plenty of built-in redundancies, but every now and then
the
dispatch guide states that something just has to
be fixed. I tell my passengers that the average car drives
100,000 kilometres in 6 years, whereas the average
B747-400 travels this distance in one week. (100,000
km is about 62,500 miles). Just think of the things
that break on a car over six years. Things will break
on a plane, even a new one. Typical of the built-in
redundancies is the air-conditioning systems. On
a
B747-400 there are three of them. Whilst in flight
if two failed, as a passenger you wouldn't feel any difference.
However before the plane could depart one of the
broken
systems would need repairing. Oh yes, while I am
talking about air conditioning, pilots receive the same
air
as the rest of the plane. They do not get extra oxygen.
The only real difference is that the cockpit does
have its own temperature control. So the final word on
mechanical
delays is that no pilot is going to fly a plane that
is unsafe. Your safety comes first!
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Weather...Sometimes
weather such as thunderstorms or snow storms make it
unsafe to take-off or land. So the prudent pilot will
wait until it is safe.
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Passengers...It
might seem strange to you to know that by far the
most common source of delays is your fellow passenger.
I
would guess that 90% of my delays have been waiting
for just one last passenger to join us. There are
many reasons why passengers do not make it on board on
time. Last minute shopping, getting lost in the terminal,
making a telephone call. It is just a lack of courtesy.
My airline has a policy that if a passenger is late
boarding then a search for that person's baggage
is
commenced. If the bags are found first they are off-loaded,
the doors are closed and we leave without the passenger.
So make sure you are on board on time!
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Air
Traffic Control...The
function of Air Traffic Controllers is to provide
a safe flow of planes along the millions of airways around
the world. Jet planes flying above 25,000 feet are
always separated vertically by at least 1,000 feet,
more commonly 2,000 feet, and along track by at least
30
miles (48 km). Air Traffic Controllers are responsible
to maintain this separation, so sometimes your flight
will have to wait to be able to fit in with the traffic
flow.
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Catering....A
typical catering delay is when an incorrect number
of meals has been loaded on board the plane. It must
be a lack of communication that causes these delays.
Either the passenger numbers change late or because
airlines use an outside source for the catering. Which
ever, delays will occur. Yes, I will delay a flight
if there is insufficient catering. I believe that all
customers are entitled to everything that they have
paid for.
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Crewing....This
is usually caused by a crew illness or unavailability.
The only crew delay I have experienced occurred about
28 years ago, while I was a junior co-pilot, when
the Captain's father died just prior to departure.
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Baggage
and Cargo Loading...These
are very frustrating because you never really know
how long it will take to complete loading. The reasons
for late loading can be weather related, last minute
passenger joining the flight etc. On a B747 trying
to load 400 passengers' bags can take more than an
hour. Be patient, it is most important to leave with
everyone's bags on board |
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If
you experience a delay there is nothing that you
can do about it. Believe me that pilots and airlines
want
the plane to leave on time too, but will only do
so when it is safe to go. Try and not let something
small
like a delay ruin your flight. When booking your
flight be careful to avoid flights with tight connections.
It will incovenience you if your flight suffers a delay. |
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