Pilots Complain That Stingy Airlines Are Forcing Them To Fly "Uncomfortably Low On Fuel"
Writing by Webmaster on Sunday, 10 of August , 2008 at 10:14 pm - - 3 views
In September of 2005 a safety alert was issued by NASA’s confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows air crews to report safety problems without fear their names will be disclosed.
With fuel prices now their biggest cost, airlines are aggressively enforcing new policies designed to reduce consumption.
In September of 2005 a safety alert was issued by NASA’s confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows air crews to report safety problems without fear their names will be disclosed.
With fuel prices now their biggest cost, airlines are aggressively enforcing new policies designed to reduce consumption.
Just look at the complaints flooding into NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System:
"I know our program manager is ranking captains on landing with less fuel. I don’t care to be ranked. I think this is a safety problem and I believe fuel is your friend," the captain said. "Looking back, I would have liked more gas yesterday, and I was already carrying tanker fuel. If I wouldn’t have had this extra there would have been real problems."
The captain of a Boeing 747 said he began to run low on fuel after meeting strong headwinds over the Atlantic en route to JFK in New York in February. After contacting his company to discuss a refueling stop, the captain said he was told by his operations manager that the flight actually needed less fuel than had been loaded on board and would have enough to get to JFK without stopping.
But by the time he reached JFK, his fuel was "far below my comfort zone and probably less than the minimum fuel required by the FARs (federal aviation regulations)," the captain said. "Our fuel situation had not become critical yet, but had we had any delay, I would have had to declare a fuel emergency."
"I am not sure if the ‘flight plan’ as given to me by my company was a real flight plan, or if they were just telling me it was so that I would continue to JFK … thus saving them time and expense. … In the future, if such a situation presents itself again, I will divert to my initial destination regardless of what my company says I can do. The safety of my crew far outweighs any financial burden to the company." (continued at LINK)
Not only does using less fuel lighten the load, it saves LOADS of money. And they wonder why people don’t fly anymore. The invasive searches, the high prices, and the tyranny of it all might have something to do with it.
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