Please can anyone explain a little about Trim on the Embraer 145?
After BA Connect sold to Flybe they started loading everyone at the back of the aircraft stating that it was required for the "Trim of the Aircraft". The front could be empty with say 15 out of 18 pax filling the back rows.
They have relented more recently but yesterday I flew STR to BHX. The flight was at least 75% full I would guess and I was seated in 4A. I was asked to move to 13C for the trim of the aircraft, but eventually put in row 17 as this was empty and row 13 already had 2 pax and 1 seat spare. I obviously moved without question or complaint but some things puzzle me:
- I was the only pax to be moved. Now I accept I could do with a diet but does 1 person really make such a difference on an aircraft weighing so much?
- If 1 person makes such a difference why was it OK to sit in 17C instead of 13C or was it just to move me behind the centre point?
- Why didn't BA do it on the same aircraft?
- Why do Flybe sometimes leave the catering behind blaming a full(ish) flight for needing to save weight - I remember BA offering full service on these a/c when 100% full
- I had pre-paid for an allocated seat with Flybe - why couldn't they just move a passenger who hadn't pre-paid instead of hitting on one who paid to choose his seat?
- I guess that the trim is to get the weight balance (front to back) to enable a smooth and controlled rotation - could I have just moved back to my original seat after take-off?
Thanks for any enlightenment.