When I posted this topic it was because I belive it to be important to many people and worthy of debate from all sides of the fence. I have endeavored to provide information and comment honestly based on fact and experience.
Lucky Angel ...... I would be careful calling me a sad spotter as you do not know who I am. I would hope that any one in my position does know exactly what EGPWS is all about, and the SESSMA philosophy.
Of course, to operate to a specific Cat x limit you need the appropriate ground equipment, it all needs to be working,(and to be complete there is a whole host of other small but very critical points) but Airforcenone backs up my point very well.
Although I have rarely used its full landing capabilities having it as an option is very useful and enables us to commence our flight to a foggy destination when many other regional and low cost carries are looking for other options.
When was the last time you heard a Speedbird diverting due fog? In twenty years I cannot think of an occasion, however I have heard plenty of others.
So is this merger a good thing or a bad thing? Well when I write my memoirs I will tell you. The fact is that it all depends where you are sitting, in an A319, E145, paying for a seat down the back, serving the product or in the board room. We must remember that some people will lose there jobs, others will have to move or take much lower T&C. Other people may find opertunity. At the moment I just do not know. I don't fancy new T&C's and I do not want to move. I also want to have some form of job in the future which as missiles start flying in Afganistan is not as certain as a few weeks ago.
One thing that does concern me greatly is that mergers like this start off with the idea of taking the best bits of all ingredients and turning them into a super tasty delight. However it is much more complicated in reality as BA should know from its LGW experiences and we all know from experiences such as trying to buy a really high spec car that does 100mpg and yet doesn't worry the bank account one little bit!!!!! In short life is a compromise and the final reality is often much less rewarding than the bean counters would like us to belive.
Things do need to change, we need to respond to the challenges that become our industry as a whole and specific markets like regional operations. However I generally belive that if you desire quality then you mast be prepared to pay for it. If its low cost, then there is always someone who will do it cheaper.......
Safe Flying
