Airbus - Do I smell a rat?

[Gunship]

.. No sam6 not talking about you this time :p


I smell the Airbus is not a very likable aircraft for the PPRUNERS on this Forum ?

What's wrong with it ? Or what is right with it ?

Comments appreciated (to cure my smell organism) ;)

Cheers,

Gunns

[4HolerPoler]

No problem aircraft Guns. It ain't a Boeing but it's a good plane.

4HP

[Gunship]

Ahaa ...

It ain't a Boeing ...

Think that says basically what I have gathered from here.

"Dinkey Toy" and "gadget" ...

So did SAA made a mistake by buying these "Gadgets" ?

Are they not up to expectations ?

Cheers and thanks


Gunns :D

[flyhardmo]

quote:
I smell a rat

Maybe its the hoe-sties. Then again alot of things smell bad in africa

[bluesafrica]

I have heard people calling them also as Nintendo...
Blues:E

[Rhodie]

In the 'Letters' page, todays Star..

A passenger on an Airbus flight wrote to Andre Viljoen after having a serious frothy at the pilots PA announcements:

1. "There's a strange noise so we're checking it out, because we have a safety first policy."
2. "We aren't quite sure what this noise is, but we're still double-checking, as we have a safety first policy."
3. "Well, nothing seems to be wrong as our systems can't find anything. Sometimes these new planes make noises we aren't quite used to."
4. "Having found nothing wrong we're now going to take off. Thanks for your patience."

Now - either the pax has a bl@@dy good memory, or he had a pearlcorder going..? :confused:

Point here - maybe the Frogbus WAS making strange noises, but the pax didn't feel very pampered with the PA and wrote in to say the pilot should have worded differently, i.e. "Our checks have confirmed everythings fine."

Well, obviously everything was "fine" or Mr. pax wouldn't have had the time to write the letter..!

Ok, back to the point - it WAS an Airbus...

Me..? I like the old saying... "if it aint a Boeing, it aint going" :ok:

Cheers

R

[gjp]

Absolutely nothing wrong with the aircraft - does an excellent job.

Just needs to be operated properly both by Pilots and ENGINEERS in particular.

Some people take longer that others to change idea's.

Boeing and Airbus both good aircraft but my bet is on Airbus.

[SortieIII]

I notice a fair number of complaints in the SA press/radio from disgruntled economy class pax - apparently supremely uncomfortable back there!

Also hear that A340-600 has a 'harmonic' twitch that keeps crew awake. airbus fix only partially effective at this stage.

Have flown both, feel more comfortable in Boeing, but suppose the Bus is OK provided you are not trying to make it do things it was not designed to do, which I believe is what is happening?

Did not know that engineers were operating the Airbus?

[El Peligroso]

Gotta laugh at all the Boeing die-hards.

Boys, the invention of the side-stick and a table that can hold the average twenty-something year old hostie is FAR better then ANYTHING Boeing has come up with! :=
:ok:

[The Claw]

I think he meant Engineers on the ground. Airbus is plastic cr@p which doesn't like to be "man handled".

From a PAX point of view, the worst flight of my life was in the back of an A340 going to Sri Lanka! Finally understood what Air Rage was all about......

That said, I know a B737 driver who had to be dragged kicking and screaming over to the A320 and A321. Apart from landing them, he is now loving the Airbus!

[Deanw]

SAA keeps leg-room complaints on hold as it awaits feedback

Aviation

By Roger Makings

South African Airways has no immediate plans to change the configuration of the seats in its new Airbus aircraft despite a slew of complaints.

Readers of a daily newspaper mounted a campaign against "lack of space" for passengers in the economy class of the Airbus A340-600s, saying they preferred the seats on the older Boeing 747s.

Among their gripes were that the seats were too hard and that they had a lot of "exposed hard metal edges". Aisle space was also said to be restricted.

One reader complained of a "large box" under every second row of seats, which meant that only one leg could be extended.

SAA's vice-president for communications, JJ Tabane, said this week that the airline was monitoring passenger feedback and would, in time, "act accordingly" if necessary.

"The aircraft are a new product and it will take time to find out passengers' response to the product," he said.

Of the boxes under seats in every second row - they are about half the size of a carry-on bag - Tabane said these were there to provide a superior in-flight entertainment system in economy class.

The system allowed each passenger his or her own screen and choice of programme. Otherwise, passengers would be forced to watch a single show on large, roof-mounted screens, he said.

He agreed that this "option comes at a price in leg-room for some passengers".

With regard to seat pitch, he said SAA matched that of most major carriers, 81cm or 79cm, and that the seats in the Boeing 747 were no bigger than those of the Airbus.

Tabane said there were no plans to change the seats or configuration of the Airbuses which had yet to be delivered.

"We need to balance the issue of a superior entertainment system and leg-room. To do this we are constantly getting feedback from our passengers through call centres and letters. Once a clear picture emerges, we will take action if necessary."

However, Virgin Atlantic, which also operates A340-600s, said it had a comparable entertainment system. It also needed boxes under seats but this did not impinge on leg-room. "We have only a few boxes in economy, and they do not affect leg-room," said Virgin spokesman Tracey Meaker. Passengers had not complained about space in economy.

[Pontius' Pilot]

Hi Claw how are you?

Serve you right for going to Sri Lanka! Still better than the Dash Late though ( Have you heard anything from the old company lately?).


Anyway the bus is great, it takes a "cheap airline" to squash in too many pax into the back. You earned enough money in SAX not to have to sit in cattle class :)

[126.9]

There are a few very good reasons that Tupperware is so successful; all of them apply to Airbus!

:}

[slapfaan]

:ouch: "JEALOUSY MAKES YOU NASTY..."!!

Absolutely NOTHING wrong with the BUS..she's got ALL the bells and whistles,excellent protection envelopes,much quieter than the boeings...cheaper to operate..and handles like a dream...

....."if it's a boeing..I'm NOT going"...:p

[Pontius' Pilot]

Gee 126.9 what do think I feel like :{ , just done all this prep for my route check tonight to London on the Bus. I read again about all the wonderful things it has to offer.

Hope my knowledge (or lack thereof) of the Bus tonight gets me a tick in the correct box for the next year.

Is that beer cold and ready ?

By the way 126.9 I think the last time I was on a flight deck with you was when I was positioning to CPT to JNB, you were still flying the Bus then with Mr Tony van E.

There\'s got to be a reason for me saying this - just trying to think of it :ouch:

[126.9]

I say again: There are a few very good reasons that Tupperware is so successful; all of them apply to Airbus! Here are some of them:

Cheap to buy/lease/operate.Choice of models. Custom facilities available. Great guarentees. Long range and short range available in most models. Latest design and technology. Easy to handle (by woman as well). And anytime you want a real one, Boeing will accept your Airbus as a trade-in!! :ok:

Beers cold and in supply and GOOD luck with the check!!!

[Gunship]

Thanks for the very interesting replies so far gents.

Good luck with your check - ride Pontius' Pilot :D (It gives me more time to answer your PM ;)

Welkom SlapFaan ... long time ..

It seems definately that the pax has got a problem with the "gadget" / tupperware / "harmonic twitch" Bus ... but once you have flown her .. you stay with her (table and all) :E

Thanks all ... ;)

[The Claw]

Still kicking mate!

Yeh, Sri Lanka was something else. The four hour drive after the flight didn't help either........and people wonder why I drink?? SAX obviously didn't pay me enough.......

Talking about those bloody box's .........reminds me. Those damn plastic seats are so thin that everytime the passenger behind uses his wonderful entertainment, it feels as if he is using your spine to change channels????? Try this for eleven hours? If this guy wasn't a friend, I think that I would have decked him. Maybe this is why Air Rage came to the fore with Airbus? :E

Haven't heard much from SAX lately, other than staff leaving in droves. Heard that they wanted to purchase a couple more CRJ's but my source thought that they would get Dash Lates instead.

Good luck with your check ride! Suggest that you try a seat in the back first, after that believe me, NOTHING on earth would stop you from passing with flying colours. :} Obviously a pilots aircraft...sod the PAX?

All the best :ok:

[planecrazi]

What's the difference between a lumberjack and an Airbus?

About 600 trees a minute!!!

Airbus has been good, it pays the salary, just the tanks are too big-flies to far between landings.:ok:

[White Knight]

Guns my friend,

The 'bus is a beauty !!! I can have my dinner on a table rather than my lap.
Also with reference to pax comfort, it's not a Boeing, Airbus difference. The seating layout, design and pitch is as the airline wants it. I pax fairly often in both 777 and A330/A345 and the 'bus is FAR nicer. Even in cattle class. :} :}

Cheers

[Gunship]

Hey WITTES ... long time bru ;)

Here is a post from a member that wishes to remain anonymous .. howz that for spelling ??? :p

Forget the meaningless pilot opinions ;)

the A320 is f** yes I edited it **g expensive to run stand alone - unless you have a fleet of 10 plus the tooling and test equipment costs are prohibitive - as is spares/rotable provision - much more so than Boeings

you can buy a 15 yr old A320 for between $18 to 25 mil - a Boeing 757 will only cost you $16 mil for a good Low Gross Weight acft and $20-25 mil for an ER - and a B737-300 will go from as low as $8 mil to $12 mil if u know where to get it - and maintenance costs are much lower as more competition in the mx. market

there u are :)

Who pays what for his name .. :E

[Cpt. Underpants]

I currently fly the Bus (A330-300 and A340-300/600). I have several thousand hours on type (PIC). I have a lot of time on the A310/A300-600 and the A320.

I have several thousand hours on B727/737 (not NG) B747-200/300/400/SP/Combi/F and B757/767 (PIC)

IMHO, although the Bus seems cheap and plastic (I hate the rattling on the ground and the Piper/Cessna plastic overlay on the panel is...PLASTIC), the MEL is a nightmare, the passenger seats are small and the ride in turbulence poor, I understand why the bean counters like them.

If you have an aircraft that does 95% of the job for 80% of the cost of the competition, it makes sense.

If I had a choice - I would take an equivalent Boeing over a Bus. Why? The Boeing is less complex, you have a very good idea of how things talk to each other, it's intuitive, and here's a point (an esoteric one) - the Boeing FEELS better. It talks to YOU. You can easily tell the difference between a good operator and a poor one on the Boeing, but not on the Bus.

I often fly with low time F/O's and you have to be reactive...It's already happened when you see it on the Bus (no tactile feedback on the side-stick) but you can see it BEFORE it happens on any Boeing (proactive). I get very twitchy near the ground on the Bus.

Having said all that, the Bus has some superior features, no doubt about it:

The flight control system (FBW) is amazing.
G/S Mini - Love it.
The table in front of you.
It's quiet - much quieter than almost any Boeing. I thought I would go deaf on the 744!
It runs on the smell of an oil rag.

Both types are good. Both are well engineered. Both do the job they were designed to do. But, if I was to be perfectly honest, I would take a Boeing. NOW LEAVE IT ALONE for Pete's sake.

Devote your energies to rescuing that poor Nigerian left in space! Now where did I leave my bank details..?

[SortieIII]

Cpt. Underpants - I wish I could have said it like that! I think you have summarised the beastly affair brilliantly.