Qantas ‘pressures’ pilots to save on fuel
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What a total load of bollicks !.
When, oh when; please tell me, since (Pontius Pilate) when were engine overhaul costs cheaper than fuel. Or even when FOB (landing) mattered against an on time, safe flight ??.
Tanker cheaper fuel when possible, absolutely; – remember, the company owns every bit of fuel on board - landing. Ok 82 c/ litre at Whykickamoocow, 84 c at YSSY so what ?. Why, in all the hells do we pay management, if not to wangle the best fuel prices ?.
A whole 2 c per litre against brand damage = no sense, no clients = no profit, and no bloody cents whatsoever !. (Pardon the Pun).
We are paid to deliver a payload, on time, every time. That's it. Sod the accountants who can't hedge or spot market or whatever, suddenly, it's my problem. Bollocks.
Streuth.
Sellah.
Tanker cheaper fuel when possible, absolutely; – remember, the company owns every bit of fuel on board - landing. Ok 82 c/ litre at Whykickamoocow, 84 c at YSSY so what ?. Why, in all the hells do we pay management, if not to wangle the best fuel prices ?.
A whole 2 c per litre against brand damage = no sense, no clients = no profit, and no bloody cents whatsoever !. (Pardon the Pun).
We are paid to deliver a payload, on time, every time. That's it. Sod the accountants who can't hedge or spot market or whatever, suddenly, it's my problem. Bollocks.
Streuth.
Sellah.
Just a thought,
Everyone knows ryan air is the king at this. But they opperate in the EU. the EU is not a big place, lots of ads all close together.
So my question is; has it been considered that trying to push a ryan style opperation that some Ads don't have an alternative that are comfortably close.
I just ask since I know jetstar planning use YCIN as a viable alternate for the flights over the Timor sea to bali, even though this is complete reliant on the local coppa not being pissed or out fishen with the boys to turn the lights on. I guess not much thought happening at the Q.
I'm thinking of broome, alice to name a few.
Everyone knows ryan air is the king at this. But they opperate in the EU. the EU is not a big place, lots of ads all close together.
So my question is; has it been considered that trying to push a ryan style opperation that some Ads don't have an alternative that are comfortably close.
I just ask since I know jetstar planning use YCIN as a viable alternate for the flights over the Timor sea to bali, even though this is complete reliant on the local coppa not being pissed or out fishen with the boys to turn the lights on. I guess not much thought happening at the Q.
I'm thinking of broome, alice to name a few.
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I am surprised that the Captains of today even go along with this. 
On one of the Overseas contracts I did many years ago now, Aussie aircraft and Crews, we had a new Station Manager arrive during the contract and one of the first things he told me was that he was going to do all the flight plans and tell the Crews how much fuel they were to take.
I told him I did't think it would go down well with the Captains, and big surprise when he started doing this EVERY Captain on EVERY flight ordered more fuel until common sense was restored.
On one of the Overseas contracts I did many years ago now, Aussie aircraft and Crews, we had a new Station Manager arrive during the contract and one of the first things he told me was that he was going to do all the flight plans and tell the Crews how much fuel they were to take.
I told him I did't think it would go down well with the Captains, and big surprise when he started doing this EVERY Captain on EVERY flight ordered more fuel until common sense was restored.
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No it happens.
All Capts were issued a chart with where they stand percentage wise across all mainline fleets (not just A380).
Some chose to ignore it.
Most sensible people continued to order fuel sensibly, the way they did before the "Fly Spec Chart" .......but there are always a few who need protecting from themselves and order minimum (or flt plan fuel) [which to be fair can be absolutely acceptable on any given day] - however some take it regardless of potentially foreseeable contingencies.
Some are even proud to be in the lowest fuel ordering ranges.
Most are very happy if they fit into the "normal" or average range.
All Capts were issued a chart with where they stand percentage wise across all mainline fleets (not just A380).
Some chose to ignore it.
Most sensible people continued to order fuel sensibly, the way they did before the "Fly Spec Chart" .......but there are always a few who need protecting from themselves and order minimum (or flt plan fuel) [which to be fair can be absolutely acceptable on any given day] - however some take it regardless of potentially foreseeable contingencies.
Some are even proud to be in the lowest fuel ordering ranges.
Most are very happy if they fit into the "normal" or average range.
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This has been going on for years, ever since one QF captain sourced the data for a thesis back in, I think, the '80's..
It's never really been a problem, except for a few guys at either end of the spectrum.
G'day
It's never really been a problem, except for a few guys at either end of the spectrum.
G'day
Ansett did this for years, it never seemed to cause any problems. We also had our line and sim checks scores compared to each other. Most managed to keep the little dot in the middle of the pack, which was comforting in a way. One character had his fuel uplift way above everybody else and eventually dropped back among the average figures, so it works. The only risk is there's always some ego maniac who would like to win the 'least fuel' prize. Even then, so what, he or she ends up diverting and is late getting home while the rest of us are having a cold beer.
Bloggs...
I would guess that a modern contract charter company could invest in an off the shelf electronic flight planning program and therefore have more accurate burns. I would have thought that this may save that 3%? 
In my jallopy it costs 3% per hour to carry "extra" fuel.
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BA also does this, the list was accessible by everyone but the pilots were identified by a number only that only each pilot knew. So you didn't know who was actually the top or bottom of the list, it was purely there to allow people to see where they ranked against the average. I did fly with one Captain quite often who would order 1kg less than flight plan fuel every sector knowing they he would be fuelled more than this. What is did though was register a 1% fuel saving against his number, he was very proud of the fact he was the most fuel efficient Captain. He was also the only Captain that I knew that actually had a full genuine fuel emergency when an 'unexpected' snow flurry effected LHR.
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I don"t think he was referring to flight plan accuracy, rather the cost of carrying any fuel over and above what the company flight plan may have. No reference to accuracy of the plan.
Originally Posted by Porch Monkey
I don"t think he was referring to flight plan accuracy, rather the cost of carrying any fuel over and above what the company flight plan may have. No reference to accuracy of the plan.
Originally Posted by A380 Driver
0n the 380 from Syd to Dubai, for each extra tonne you take you burn an extra 500 kg roughly.
Therefore, for flights over 33hr, tankering will not achieve anything! 
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By George.
I can remember a few AN Captains carried less than the flight plan to improve their ranking; there was a notice about it.
The company also monitored sector times but didn't publish them. A checkie told me that one particular Captain stood out as being consistently ahead of schedule (initials RS). A couple of others were consistently behind schedule: I was embarrassed to fly with them, particularly when other aircraft overtook us on the adjacent taxiway.
I can remember a few AN Captains carried less than the flight plan to improve their ranking; there was a notice about it.
The company also monitored sector times but didn't publish them. A checkie told me that one particular Captain stood out as being consistently ahead of schedule (initials RS). A couple of others were consistently behind schedule: I was embarrassed to fly with them, particularly when other aircraft overtook us on the adjacent taxiway.
