Originally Posted by
MCDU2
Seems airmanship and a bit of respect for other operators sharing the sky has long left this industry. Instead its a bunch of lemmings who are to scared to take the fuel they require to do the job properly.
Playing a bit of a devil's advocate here, so... What is the optimum descend speed? Vmo, Vmo-5, Vmo-10? Supposedly I'm no. 3 for a straight in approach to XYZ airfield, and I have planned to fly at 340 kts, but now I'm stuck behind this slow guy doing 300 and I have to use speedbrake, bunch of idiots in front of me scared of the barber pole... How does it work in this case, where is the point where the speed becomes too slow?
Hat, coat...
PS: I agree we are all in the same airspace, but people with a lot of information about operating costs (much more than it's available to an average pilot) have come up with a cost index that keeps the boat afloat, and it might be different for another airline operating same aircraft type. It's then ATC's job to adjust the speeds to keep the flow going, sometimes the slow guys have to speed and and sometimes the fast guys need to slow down.