jb747
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2010
- Posts
- 12,509
Re: BNE popular for diversions this morning.
Another way that these things can sometimes be handled, and I don't know whether that may have come into play or not, is to plan a very early diversion or 'tech call'.
For instance, in the case of the 94, if Melbourne had low enough cloud to need either an alternate or holding, and Sydney (the first choice for a diversion) had fog, then you're looking at a scenario in which you will never get to destination unless the weather improves. If that is considered unlikely before departure, then, instead of trying to fit on more fuel (which the 94 can't), you might look at taking a reduced fuel load, and planning on going to Auckland. You can then push the speed up to the max, landing weight won't be an issue (the 380 regularly doesn't reach max landing weight until very late in a flight), and you can have everything in place for a quick turnaround. You could conceivably manage a shutdown time of less than 30 minutes if it all comes together.
Some years ago, I took a flight (767) from Melbourne to Hong Kong. The weather there was appalling, and most of the alternates weren't much better. So, we took just enough fuel to go to Darwin, filled it to the brim there, and arrived in HK with enough fuel to hold and still divert to Bangkok (2 plus hours away). Two go arounds later, we were the first aircraft to land for the day...
Another way that these things can sometimes be handled, and I don't know whether that may have come into play or not, is to plan a very early diversion or 'tech call'.
For instance, in the case of the 94, if Melbourne had low enough cloud to need either an alternate or holding, and Sydney (the first choice for a diversion) had fog, then you're looking at a scenario in which you will never get to destination unless the weather improves. If that is considered unlikely before departure, then, instead of trying to fit on more fuel (which the 94 can't), you might look at taking a reduced fuel load, and planning on going to Auckland. You can then push the speed up to the max, landing weight won't be an issue (the 380 regularly doesn't reach max landing weight until very late in a flight), and you can have everything in place for a quick turnaround. You could conceivably manage a shutdown time of less than 30 minutes if it all comes together.
Some years ago, I took a flight (767) from Melbourne to Hong Kong. The weather there was appalling, and most of the alternates weren't much better. So, we took just enough fuel to go to Darwin, filled it to the brim there, and arrived in HK with enough fuel to hold and still divert to Bangkok (2 plus hours away). Two go arounds later, we were the first aircraft to land for the day...
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