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easyJet. How easy and simple can it be?

By
Geoffrey Thomas
Safest low-cost
Photo: easyJet.

How easy is easyJet?

Well very simple, very slick and easy on the wallet.

We decided to road test easyJet for a flight to Dubrovnik from Gatwick airport.

Check-in was open at 5 am for a 7.10 departure and staying at the North Terminal ‘s Hilton made that a short 5-minute stroll.

We purchased extra baggage weight, speedy boarding and because I am 195cm exit row seats.

WATCH: Head to head with Emirates A380.

All up cost for two passengers with all the frills was EP202.

Speedy boarding got us into a short priority lane for the baggage drop which was very simple and we were away from that area within 5 minutes – it was just that easy.

easyJet ground staff abounded and two came up and asked if we need help.

In flight service Picture: Easyjet

We have also purchased Gatwick Premium priority screening and in 10 minutes we had sailed through that area as well.

As part of that package, we added in the Aspire Lounge for early morning breakfast and chill out.

Again, another good move.

At 6.10am as advised up came our gate for the Dubrovnik flight which was EZY8517 (Aug 30) an Airbus A319.

This gate was one of the many remote ones and the airline handled the speedy boarders by calling us first for the bus and we were instructed to stand at the front of the multi doored bus as that front door would be the only one that was opened once we were at the aircraft.

Indeed, it was and boarding was a breeze.

The cabin crew were superb – it was if Easyjet hand picked the best they had just for our flight.

Nothing was too much trouble and they approached their roles with energy and enthusiasm.

Top marks!

And the exit row afforded enough room for my lanky legs.

Talking of the exit row the crew safety briefing was thorough abd professional.

The captain, who was the non-flying pilot, kept us informed on the ground and in the air.

Slight delay for take-off, which is normal for Gatwick and a smooth flight – which it was.

Once airborne for the two-hour twenty-minute flight the cabin crew were on their feet serving, then cleaning up.

Our pre-ordered snack of chips, water, and a ham and cheese toasty were delivered ahead of the cabin service and we followed up later with coffee which cost EP2.50 each.

Very tasty and hit the mark.

Before we knew it, the Captain was announcing our let down into Dubrovnik followed by a silky-smooth landing.

Not in easyJet’s control, but the on-ground experience at Dubrovnik airport was also silky-smooth.

All in all, a premium experience from a low-cost carrier and that takes class and effort.

 

 

Head to head with Emirates A380 superjumbo

By
Geoffrey Thomas
Emirates

This is a spectacular video of going head to head with an Emirates A380, which goes past just 300m above the “camera” aircraft.

Aircraft flying in the same direction are separated by 2000ft while aircraft flying in the opposite direction, the same separation, but at even altitudes, thus aircraft flying in the opposite direction to each other are just 1000ft apart.

WATCH: Amazing skill of a Boeing 757 crew landing in strong cross winds.

Separations of just 1000ft are standard today for suitably equipped jets with the sophistication of autopilots and cockpit automation as well as satellites.

Suitability equipped jets are described as Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM).

Within RVSM airspace (between FL290 and FL410 inclusive) the vertical separation minimum is:

  • 1000ft (300m) between RVSM-approved aircraft, and
  • 2000ft (600m) between non-RVSM approved state aircraft and any other aircraft operating within RVSM airspace.
  • 2000ft (600m) between non-RVSM aircraft operating as general air traffic (GAT) and any other aircraft within RVSM airspace.

United launches premium-high, luxury, 767s into Europe.

By
Geoffrey Thomas
UNited

United Airlines has launched premium-high, luxury, 767s into Europe.

Flights from the United States to secondary European markets — and from secondary US markets to primary European destinations — are bellwethers for a substantial part of the industry.

They’re often seasonal and the first to be withdrawn in economic downturns cost upticks or an aircraft availability squeeze. They’re arguably driving much of the development of Boeing’s middle-of-market aircraft.

WATCH: Stunning colour video of the 707 that started the jetset.

And now, with United’s latest high-premium Boeing 767-300ER deployment, they’re a way to target high-yield premium passengers: firstly those largely leisure passengers flying nonstop to secondary markets in a way that hasn’t been done before, and secondly supplementing premium capacity to primary destinations and Star Alliance hubs.

These 767s have incredibly high premium seating proportions, driven by a number of factors. 46 seats in business, 22 in premium economy, 43 in extra-legroom economy and 56 in regular economy — this is a high-end configuration and no mistake.

To start with, 46 Safran Optima seats branded as United Polaris stretch over halfway down the aircraft, in a 1-1-1 configuration.

This is a huge number of business class seats on a 767-300ER, up from 30 seats on United’s previous configuration of the aircraft, stretching around a third of the way down the cabin.

READ: United’s Patterson a giant of the industry in colour.

The actual Polaris seat — not to be confused with “Fauxlaris”, the ongoing situation where the decade-old Collins Diamond seat is furnished with the latest soft product — is remarkably good, and indeed to my mind surpasses anything that United’s Star Alliance stablemates operate between the US and Europe, with the exception of Singapore Airlines’ JFK-Frankfurt leg.

Also driving the premiumisation of the aircraft is the premium economy section, which United brands as Premium Plus, which on this aircraft comprises 22 seats in a 2-2-2 layout.

As a result, the Economy Plus extra-legroom economy section is pushed back almost all the way to the rear of the aircraft, with these 34-inch-pitched seats on the outboard pairs of the 767’s 2-3-2 configuration all the way to the fifth row from the rear of the plane.

UNited

Just 56 regular economy seats at 31” pitch span most of the centre section, behind the bulkhead row. This itself is a fascinating change: it’s unusual for airlines to so dramatically mix their market segments, with most preferring to keep extra-legroom economy as a separate product offering. I wonder whether this is the result of the additional segmentation offered by the proper premium economy cabin now offered.

Compared with the ex-Continental 767-300ER configuration of 30 in business, 49 in extra-legroom economy and 135 in regular economy, it’s hugely premium.

The destinations vary interestingly too. Newark to Nice is at least partially driven by the Cannes film festival: rather a different reason for putting the high-premium 767 on that route compared with additional flights from United’s New York area hub to Frankfurt and, although the Dutch capital has a strong tourism draw, Amsterdam.

Chicago to Zurich is another hub-to-hub Star Alliance implementation, and like Newark-Frankfurt I’m wondering how much the airline’s frequent flyer programme, which like most US loyalty schemes doles out upgrades on the airline’s own metal, is driving the deployment of these high-premium upgrades. It feels somewhat odd to suggest, but it will be fascinating to see the extent to which the airline opens up substantial points redemption and upgrade opportunities on these routes compared with reserving seats for passengers buying into the cabin directly.

United

Says International Network Vice President Patrick Quayle, “United’s global network is a tremendous source of pride for our employees and loyal customers – we’re always looking for ways to grow and expand our network to connect our customers to more destinations around the world. These new additions help position United as the airline of choice for customers planning their business or leisure travel.”

Virgin Australia to streamline its way back to profitablity

By
Geoffrey Thomas
Virgin

Virgin Australia is to conduct a sweeping review of its operations, layoff staff and streamline its various divisions to return to the airline to profitability after reporting an Underlying Loss Before Tax of A$71.2 million and a statutory loss after tax of A$315.4 million for the 12 months ended 30 June 2019.

The Underlying Loss Before Tax of $71.2 million, compared to an Underlying Profit Before Tax of $64.4 million for the prior year, was a decline of $135.6 million.

However, despite the loss, the Group continues to focus on strengthening its balance sheet, increasing its cash position to $1.7 billion at 30 June 2019, a $324.5 million improvement on the prior corresponding period.

WATCH a stunning colour video of the Boeing 707 that started the jetset. 

The Virgin Group is made up of: Virgin Domestic, Virgin International, Tigerair and Velocity.

The airline said that the result was driven by “subdued trading conditions in the second half of the financial year, combined with fuel and foreign exchange headwinds and increased operational costs.”

The Group reported an increase in total revenue of 7.6 per cent to $5.8 billion for the full year, including a 2.1 per cent improvement in Revenue Per Available Seat Kilometre (RASK).

However, market demand moderated in the second half of the financial year, impacted by the timing of the Easter holiday period and the Federal Election, which saw both the corporate and leisure travel sectors soften the airline said.

The airline said that the challenging trading environment in H2 FY19 was “compounded by increasing costs including fuel and foreign exchange headwinds of $158.8 million and a $15.0 million investment in Trans-Tasman routes following the cessation of the Air New Zealand alliance.”

Group Cost per Available Seat Kilometre (CASK), excluding fuel and foreign exchange, rose by 4.0 per cent for the 12 months to 30 June 2019.

Virgin said that the statutory loss after tax of $315.4 million was impacted by $223.2 million in restructure costs. This result was impacted by major accounting adjustments following a review of the Group’s asset values in accordance with accounting standards.

The Group is responding to these challenges with a series of immediate improvement initiatives to streamline operations and reduce costs. These include a simplified organizational structure, organizational rightsizing program, fleet and network capacity review and a Group-wide review of supplier contracts. These initiatives are being implemented whilst the Group’s ongoing strategic review is undertaken to improve business performance.

Virgin Australia Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Scurrah, said in a statement that “today’s results were disappointing and underscored the need for change.”

“There is no doubt that we are operating in a tough economic climate with high fuel, a low Australian dollar, and subdued trading conditions. However, today’s results show that we must improve our financial performance. While we have continued to grow revenue and have a strong loyal customer base, we need to make changes to our costs to ensure we see financial benefit from the growth in our business,” he said.

“Today, we have announced a number of changes to help drive business improvement. This includes a restructure of our leadership team to take in group-wide accountability across all brands, a reduction of 750 roles from our workforce, a review of all supplier contracts and agreements, and a fleet and network review which will see a tight focus on capacity management going forward.

“It’s important to note that we have already addressed a number of other business priorities including the restructure of our Boeing 737 MAX order, which deferred a significant amount of capital expenditure.

“Regarding the reduction of our workforce, I am acutely aware of the impact this has on our team members. However, if we are to position the business for the future, create new opportunities, improve competitiveness, and continue to deliver for our customers, we need to make tough but important decisions that are in the long-term interests of the Group.

“These are just some of the strategic decisions that have been made to help in the short-term. However, there’s more work we need to do on the long-term focus and positioning of the business. We will be focused on being the best value airline for both the corporate and leisure traveller, offering the strong and unique Virgin experience and proposition that we know will appeal to all market segments.

“As I’ve said previously, key to our success is ensuring we strike the right balance between the interests of our team members, customers and our shareholders. We’ll be focused on delivering for all three groups.”

 

Amazing skill of a Boeing 757 crew at Funchal, Portugal.

By
Geoffrey Thomas
757

This video captures the amazing pilot skills of a Boeing 757 crew battling high winds at Funchal’s Madeira Airport.

Crosswind landings can be a major challenge for pilots and occur when the wind is across the runway, not head-on.

WATCH: How tough is an Emirates A380?

This airport is located right on the ocean and is incredibly exposed and from one end the pilots are required to do a curved approach as well.

Typically aircraft land and take-off into the wind to decrease the landing or take-off distance.

In some cases aircraft land with a slight downwind component – typically associated with noise-sensitive airports where one runway is preferred over another.

Where a pilot faces a crosswind landing they need to point the aircraft in the direction of the wind while maintaining a straight course toward the runway.

This is called crabbing or yawing.

In strong crosswinds, the pilot may also dip the wing – sideslip – into the direction of the wind.

Just before touchdown pilots apply rudder to bring the plane – and its undercarriage – back so it is aligned straight down the centre line of the runway.

This takes great skill and the results – if not done properly – are often quite spectacular as shown in this video.

 

New Bali service in limbo

By
Geoffrey Thomas
CitiLink

The proposed new Perth to Bali service is in limbo after Citilink blocked the flight on its website.

The service was due to start from October 28 and was available a week ago but the airline then moved to block every service stating they are FULL.

There has been no response for an explanation, although insiders suggest that the service may be delayed until early next year.

WATCH: How tough is an Emirates A380?

The one-way fare in November was showing on its website at US$107 or A$165.

But in December, and into next year, the fare jumped to $US263 (A$404) one way.

However, the website was confusing in that it states that baggage is extra but a red headline statement announces that the fare includes everything.

At those fare levels, Citilink could be more expensive than Indonesia AirAsia which is quoting A$140 one way to Bali in November rising to $440 at the very peak of the Christmas period but quickly dropping back to A$140 in January.

However, with Indonesia Air Asia, there are add-ons.

The proposed Citilink flight QG542 leaves Denpasar at 1.10am and arrives in Perth at 4.50am, while the flight back to Bali departs at 9.50am and arrives at 1.30pm…. perfect for check-in.

Citilink is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia in much the same way as Qantas and Jetstar.

The airline serves 30 destinations in Indonesia with a fleet of 57 aircraft as well as Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Kunming in China, Penang in Malaysia and Dili in East Timor.

Later this year the airline is expanding to Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur.

Citilink will do battle with Jetstar, Batik Air, its owner Garuda, and Indonesia Air Asia on the Perth route.

Perfect landing in blinding weather

By
Geoffrey Thomas
landing

A perfect landing in almost zero visibility weather is captured in this video.

The pilots are using what is called a CAT 111b landing system that guides them – and the aircraft – with pinpoint accuracy onto the runway.

WATCH: How tough is the Airbus A380? See the amazing video!

Autoland systems were developed to enable aircraft to land virtually blind although they can be used in all levels of visibility.

However, there are limits to the amount of wind component that an autoland system can handle.

For instance, for a 747-400 the maximum headwind is 25 kts (28mph / 46km/hr), maximum tailwind 10 kts and a maximum crosswind of 25 kts.

However for the autoland to work an airport must be equipped with an appropriate Instrument Landing System (ILS) or Microwave Landing System (MLS).

There are various levels of ILS capability.

CAT 1 has a decision height for the pilot of 200ft (61m) and the pilot must be able to see 2400ft (55m) down the runway. For CAT 11 the decision height is 100ft (30m) and a runway visual range of 1000ft (300m). CAT111a 100ft and 660ft, CAT111b 50ft and 246ft.

Most airports have only a CAT 1 capability.

The first aircraft to be certified to CAT III standards was a Sud Aviation Caravelle in December 1968 followed by the Hawker-Siddeley Trident in May 1972 to CAT IIIa. It achieved CAT IIIb in 1975.

The Trident had been certified to CAT II in February 1968.

 

 

 

 

Extreme winds: How tough is an Emirates A380?

By
Geoffrey Thomas
Emirates

An amazing video of an Emirates A380 landing in severe crosswinds demonstrates how tough the Airbus superjumbo is.

The Emirates video was uploaded by Airplane Pictures.

WATCH amazing piloting skills at Portugal’s most dangerous airport.

Typically aircraft land and take-off into the wind to decrease the landing or take-off distance.

In some cases aircraft land with a slight downwind component – typically associated with noise-sensitive airports where one runway is preferred over another.

Where a pilot faces a crosswind landing they need to point the aircraft in the direction of the wind while maintaining a straight course toward the runway.

This is called crabbing or yawing.

In strong crosswinds, the pilot may also dip the wing – sideslip – into the direction of the wind.

Just before touchdown pilots apply rudder to bring the plane – and its undercarriage – back so it is aligned straight down the centerline of the runway.

This takes great skill and the results – if not done properly – are often quite spectacular as shown in this video of the Emirates A380.

Virgin Australia launches nervous flyer program

By
Geoffrey Thomas
Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia has launched a new nervous flyer program to help passengers feel more at ease on their flight.

The programme is the first of its kind in Australia and allows nervous flyers to self-identify with the airline before they travel. They will then receive a personalised email a week before they travel with the latest inflight wellness research from Virgin Australia’s health and wellness partners to help them feel at ease.

The email will also contain some details on the technical aspects of Virgin Australia’s operations. Research shows that if nervous flyers understand what will happen during the flight, it can help them relax.

Customers who have registered as nervous flyers will also be sent an encouraging, positive text on the day they travel. While they’re on the flight they’ll be able to access meditations on Virgin Australia’s inflight entertainment system. And cabin crew will keep an eye out for nervous travellers  too.

“We understand that for some of our guests, flying can be nerve-wracking and often they feel overwhelmed by the entire travel experience. Our research tells us more than 11 per cent of our guests experience high levels of nervousness about travelling, and that they want information and support to help them through their next flight. We’re always working to make flying as joyful and stress-free as possible, which is why we’re extremely proud to launch our Nervous Flyers programme today,” said Stuart Aggs, acting chief operations officer at Virgin Australia.

“The Nervous Flyers programme allows us to connect with our passengers throughout a number of touchpoints during their journey. Whether it’s sharing breathing techniques from one of our expert partners or a video to help put passengers at ease about turbulence, we want our guests to know we care and we’re here to support them.”

virgin australia

Virgin Australia’s Nervous Flyers programme is available for anyone who experiences nervousness when flying and is available on all Virgin Australia-operated flights when booked at least seven days before flying.

Full details are here;

 

Jumbo tanker to fight Amazon fires

By
Geoffrey Thomas
jumbo

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales has announced that the Global SuperTanker Services and its 747-400 jumbo will take part in combating forest fires in the Amazon.

The fires that started in Brazil have spread to Bolivia.

According to AirShowInfo, the tanker will be operational on Friday, while Flightradar24, reports that the jumbo is already en-route to Santa Cruz.

The 747-400 supertanker, which was formerly used by Japan Air Lines, can carry 115 000 litres of water.

The supertanker has two separate, but identical constant flow systems which are pressurized that allows for either continuous discharge or up to 8 segmented drops.

The system is approved for retardant, gel, foam and water drops or the combination of any two of these agents and ground servicing for another sortie takes approximately 30-35 minutes.

The Jumbo SuperTanker operates without any speed, altitude or operational restriction and provides a level of safety to ground personnel, property and natural resources unmatched by any other tanker, civilian or military.

The exceptional and superior performance of the SuperTanker is such that it departs 200,000+ pounds below maximum allowable gross weight and can land immediately without dumping fuel or retardant if the operation is cancelled.

Its dash speed of nearly 600 mph allows it to be almost anywhere in the U.S. in approximately 2.5 hours, avoiding potential traffic and ramp congestion at smaller retardant bases.  Operating from its base in Colorado springs, the SuperTanker can reach virtually any point in North America in approximately 4.5 hours.

With true Global reach, the Jumbo SuperTanker can be almost anywhere in the world in under 20 hours, including fuel stops, if necessary.

Configured with 14 first class seats and 2 bunks for the support staff and additional flight crew, the Jumbo SuperTanker arrives ready to begin previously coordinated flight operations with the host agency.

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