Atlantic routings to the Caribbean
Hey everyone,
I've just been flying EHAM-TNCM with KLM today on FS9. Something a friend has said to me just now has made me wonder about the way I conduct my flights.
You see, since I found out about NATs (North Atlantic Tracks) a while ago, I assumed that was basically the only way pilots fly across the atlantic from/to Europe. However, a friend told me today that that isn't they way they fly to more southerly destinations, such as the Caribbean. I got a routing off Routefinder for today, and I selected to use NATs. It took me right across the top of the atlantic, coasting in at Gander, then turning southwest down to Nantucket before turning south past Bermuda and then to St. Maarten. However, when I flew there in real life, they took an almost direct routing straight across the Atlantic, with what seemed like no waypoints until SXM.
I was wondering exactly what pilots do as far as routing to places like the Caribbean from Europe goes. Is there a kind of "Mid-Atlantic Track," or are the routings given direct with just the odd oceanic waypoint given every few hundred miles, or is there another method they use?
Thanks a lot for any information!