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Makes me “blue”. There are 2 sides to this coin however. No one wants the crew pushing the limits and taking off to meet a time-line (or to get the airline back on schedule) when weather, staffing shortages, mechanical or other factors make it potentially unsafe. Kind of a “catch-22”.
Unrelated - Flying first-class recently as they took beverage orders after take-off I requested my usual, that being “a 12-ounce can of CocaCola and a glass with some ice.” I don’t drink alcohol on flights and knowing the amount of Coke I’m drinking allows me to keep track of my daily calorie intake. Responded the male flight attendant: “You can have the Coke but not the can.” After I grumbled a bit that that’s never ever happened before with any airline when seated in first class he backed down and grudgingly acceded to my request. The can of Coke arrived. However, the “glass” consisted of a small paper cup.
You don’t get much for “first class” passage nowadays.
Just rode a couple 727s 737s. Seemed to hold together pretty well. (Just stay away from the door plugs.)
I recall flying Spirit once out of Detroit in the 80s on a trip to Tampa. We were delayed about an hour because they couldn’t find anybody to fly it after the passengers were aboard. They finally dug somebody up - though arrived late. Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Didn't realize that the '27s were still out there. Not too fuel efficient but one hell of a good plane.
Oops! Neither did I. Corrected the goof. 727 was noisy - especially if seated in the rear which is all I could afford in those days.
They had to de-ice (737) leaving LGA Monday as snow squalls moved in. Throttled the hell out of it before releasing the brakes. Short runways at LGA. But I suspect he may have been worried about any remaining ice.
No prob- as an air traffic controller we really liked the 727s- we couldn't hear the noise, and they could be real helpful when we needed some speed to get the separation. We never liked a '27 behind a '37, but the other way around was no problem.
On the LAX to SFO run a 27 and a 37 could leave LAX with the 27 a few minutes behind the 37, turn the 27 out over the ocean a few miles and let him roar, and then shove hm in front of the 37 just south of SFO. The 37 pilots were a bit grumpy about that.
Yes indeed- Southwest vs Air Cal. The Southwest guys were really cool. Coming into SFO from the south there was of course a standard approach with turns and descents at various fixes which Air Cal and Southwest did many times every day.. Once in a while as the Southwest got near the first fix the pilot would say "Oakland Center, I'm gonna ..." and then read the exact instruction to us just before we could read it to him. We would just say "OK Southwest- that's approved- you do all that stuff".
Southwest “wrote the book” on fast turn-arounds. In the late 70s and early 80s I’d watch with awe as they’d pull in at TPA, unload, load & push-back in 20 minutes. Other (major) carriers back then were allowing 90 minutes or more. Of course, 737s were smaller then and carried half the passengers or fewer than capable of today.
The “herd” approach to loading helped in the hasty turn-arounds. Only in the past year has SW abandoned that crude method in favor of reserved seating. Fast taxis and rolling takeoffs, sometimes on shorter runways, were standard. To a degree the majors learned from SW and speeded up their turn-around time. Time in the air for a craft = money in the pocket for the airlines.
Comments
Unrelated - Flying first-class recently as they took beverage orders after take-off I requested my usual, that being “a 12-ounce can of CocaCola and a glass with some ice.” I don’t drink alcohol on flights and knowing the amount of Coke I’m drinking allows me to keep track of my daily calorie intake. Responded the male flight attendant: “You can have the Coke but not the can.” After I grumbled a bit that that’s never ever happened before with any airline when seated in first class he backed down and grudgingly acceded to my request. The can of Coke arrived. However, the “glass” consisted of a small paper cup.
You don’t get much for “first class” passage nowadays.
(But probably still better than worst-class.)
Hold on... lemme think this... the airline gonna raise fare by $2 to cover fine and have some left... taxpayer gonna have to pay airline...
Shit.
727s737s. Seemed to hold together pretty well. (Just stay away from the door plugs.)I recall flying Spirit once out of Detroit in the 80s on a trip to Tampa. We were delayed about an hour because they couldn’t find anybody to fly it after the passengers were aboard. They finally dug somebody up - though arrived late. Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
They had to de-ice (737) leaving LGA Monday as snow squalls moved in. Throttled the hell out of it before releasing the brakes. Short runways at LGA. But I suspect he may have been worried about any remaining ice.
Thanks for correction OJ.
On the LAX to SFO run a 27 and a 37 could leave LAX with the 27 a few minutes behind the 37, turn the 27 out over the ocean a few miles and let him roar, and then shove hm in front of the 37 just south of SFO. The 37 pilots were a bit grumpy about that.
”The 37 pilots were a bit grumpy about that.”
Yeah - The Southwest pilots had a reputation for being “cowboys.” You spoiled their fun.
The “herd” approach to loading helped in the hasty turn-arounds. Only in the past year has SW abandoned that crude method in favor of reserved seating. Fast taxis and rolling takeoffs, sometimes on shorter runways, were standard. To a degree the majors learned from SW and speeded up their turn-around time. Time in the air for a craft = money in the pocket for the airlines.