What is a "Category B" flight ?
 

Some corporate bloke upset at having to hold with the rest of us plebs at BNN this eve asserted his status as a "Cat B" flight and dispatched the poor controller to go and make it so for him ....

Is this an air ambulance status or something for the rich and famous ?

Taken from the good old book:

Category B

Flights operating for search and rescue or other humanitarian
reasons. Post accident flight checks. Other flights, including Open
Skies Flights, authorised by the CAA.

Air Ambulance would be Category A:

Aircraft in emergency (e.g. engine fault, fuel shortage, seriously ill
passenger). Aircraft which have declared a 'Police Emergency'.
Ambulance/Medical aircraft when the safety of life is involved.

Full list of categories here:

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP493Part1.pdf

Page 94 :)

DF

It's usually one of those flights you're not allowed to know anything about apart from the level and a rough idea of what direction it might decide to go.

They can be a PITA, especially when the stacks fill up but the tall and short of it is that they have priority over everything apart from emergencies. It's all part of the fun!:E

<<and dispatched the poor controller to go and make it so for him ....>>

Dear oh dear.. I wonder what planet some people are on!! The "poor controller" would not have done much (except fall about laughing) - allocation of priority categories is nothing to do with him. For priority flights the Flight Progress Strip will be annotated with the category before the controller at the sharp end receives it. If there is nothing on the strip the controller may query it with the supervisor but he certainly can do nothing to "make it so". A biz jet does not qualify for such status unless a) it is carrying a VIP and b) the priority has been agreed well in advance with departments outside of ATC.

As decribed above, certain police and other security flights are Cat B and sometimes Cat A but ATC is well aware of them in advance.

Not always. I have had them upgrade their status when told they couldn't do something. That is to say the crew announces "ok we are now Cat B" and you have no option but to then accomodate them. Makes for interesting phonecalls when they land however!

I recall an Army rotary on H10 which couldn't make the specified altitudes due wx. The controller said that in that case he would have to turn back, to which the pilot replied in the negative with a change of callsign (which I cannot disclose here but is the ultimate Cat A trump card). Thames / SVFR has to be prepared for anything.

Really? Surely only when the pilot has declared an emergency because of the condition of the patient. Routine air ambulances - broken leg back from a skiing holiday, ingrowing toenail, etc - can take their turn like everyone else. :E

Yeah, that's what I meant ;)