Obie,
I hereby equivically state: I am not a pilot! Also, I am not, have not or will not, fault this flight crew whatsoever! From my very first posts I have praised the flight crew for their performance in this situation. Bravo! great job!
All I was trying to point out was concerning how relatively recent fuel saving procedures may have played a factor in this incident. The operator (company; in this case US Airways) decides at what point in the checklist the APU gets shutdown. Most, until recent fuel price hikes, left the APU until generally second segment climb, or initial cruise settings for two reasons:
1) incase of failures where additional electrical and or pneumatics would be an advantgeous resource for flight crews.
2) to reduce flight crew workload during critical phases of flight or flight transition.
If you feel your checklist procedure is the only way your aircraft can be operated; I suggest you leaf through your MEL under sections 21 & 36 to observe situations where the APU is left running the entire flight. If you are to Pilot a flight on an aircraft with a history of Engine Compressor Stalls, Pressurization events, or any of a number of things where additional electrical or pneumatic sources would be to your advantage; please request some additional fuel to cover the minimal APU burn through to cruise flight just to CYA. I was only trying to offer an additional resource for you to draw from while you guys do that Pilot thing.
As far as your comment about taking too long to change a part... We do whatever we can to prevent similar incidents from occuring. ***My Opinion Only***I feel they blew it in this case and didn't consider everything that could possibly go wrong with a Compressor Stalling Engine. I'm sure the mechanic was only willing to let it go to a major maintenance base where this engine was to be changed (it was headed to a major maintenance hub on this flight). We can't predict everything possible in flight, but we can try to offer you to fly with the most resources available for possible instant fault resolution.
I didn't mean to step on anyone's toes. and Obie if you wish to ignore my advice, go right ahead. It wasn't made with you in mind. Only those willing to listen. Truth is Truth regardless of how insignificant you consider engineers to be, my friend. You are responsible for safe passage of your passengers from chock out until chocks in. I an responsible for every soul who flys in this aircraft from time of repair until it becomes recycled into a beer can. Thank your engineers for taking so long trying to decifer the illogical over simplified squiggles some pilot call write ups; and considering the ramifications of this write up in all phases of flight with regard to safety, chain linked operations and yes, your workload in critical flight phases. Just because a system can be MEL'd doesn't automatically mean it gets MEL'd.