So i’m reading Wired today and I come across this article.
First reaction, major American airlines still fly 757s across the atlantic? That caught me by surprise. Don’t take me wrong, the 757 is a great aircraft that’s especially versatile due to its medium/long range status, but its a strech for Boeing’s 1983 aircraft. It’s also a relatively odd aircraft to use on a transatlantic flight, it just doesn’t feel right. Apparently, Continental has been having problems with fuel on these transatlantic flights, calling in 96 minimum fuel declarations this year, which is an initial warning to the ATC alerting that the aircraft may begin to have problems with the fuel. This by itself isn’t dangerous, unless the aircraft suffers any more delays.
As Wired says:
But on some of these European routes, the 757, with a range of 3,900 nautical miles, cuts it a little close. Barcelona is 3,398 nautical miles from Newark. Throw weather and holding patterns into the mix, and you’re not leaving much room for error.
That’s pretty close.
Consider the Airbus A300, with a range of 3600 nautical miles. American Airlines owns several of these aircraft but uses them on international flights to Mexico and Latin America, but never on intercontinental flights. Aircraft are usually engineered to allow for a longer range than what it was designed to do, but as anything engineered to do a certain job, it works best doing specifically that job.
It’s no surprise Continental is doing this though. The less fuel you load into an aircraft means that when you arrive at your destination, you will have less fuel left over. This fuel is essentially a waste for airlines, as it is just like transporting cargo, except this time you pay for it.
Continental’s 757s flying across the Atlantic, and their crossing on empty are two different subjects, but both important. The latter is explained by rising fuel costs, and the desire of the company to lower costs anyway possible. Flying the 757s… well, that I can’t explain. Continental has a fleet of 767s and 777s that would be much better suited for the job, but then again, maybe they’re just waiting for their 787 orders to come in.
But that’s a whole other story.
[...] surprise, fuel management, specifically in Newark airport, something which may be familiar from my older post. And then, just a few minutes later, the pilot came on the public-address system again: “Uh, [...]