Weather Diversion
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Weather Diversion
Not an airport diversion, just a weather diversion that added 1h30 minutes to a regular 9h30 flight.
This morning I returned to Kuala Lumpur from Johannesburg on MH204 in an elapsed time of 11 hours, on a route that took us up through Southern Africa to Beira, leaving the African Coast at Nampala and tracking to Moroni in the Comores and then running Eastwards just below the Equator.
The Reason: Tropical Cyclone TC04(S) is the Mother of all Cyclones, Cyclone Thane which is hitting South East India at the moment is the granchild of TC04(S).
I had a chat with the Captain at the end of the flight and he stated it was a planned diversion, but Singapore Airlines (SQ478/9), who left about 30 mins earlier, had flown direct. Must have been an interesting ride.
I have flown this route more than 70 times in the last 15 years and this was the first weather diversion, not too say that there haven't been delays in the serving of hot drinks, usually distributed hurriedly at top of descent.
Thank you to the Flight Planners at MAS.
This morning I returned to Kuala Lumpur from Johannesburg on MH204 in an elapsed time of 11 hours, on a route that took us up through Southern Africa to Beira, leaving the African Coast at Nampala and tracking to Moroni in the Comores and then running Eastwards just below the Equator.
The Reason: Tropical Cyclone TC04(S) is the Mother of all Cyclones, Cyclone Thane which is hitting South East India at the moment is the granchild of TC04(S).
I had a chat with the Captain at the end of the flight and he stated it was a planned diversion, but Singapore Airlines (SQ478/9), who left about 30 mins earlier, had flown direct. Must have been an interesting ride.
I have flown this route more than 70 times in the last 15 years and this was the first weather diversion, not too say that there haven't been delays in the serving of hot drinks, usually distributed hurriedly at top of descent.
Thank you to the Flight Planners at MAS.
You might argue that any change of course around bad weather is a weather diversion. I flew back from Sydney to London with a three days stopover at Bangkok and on both legs we made a significant detour off our track to avoid bad weather. It probably only added five minutes in each case but I am pleased that we did.
The route can vary significantly on long sectors reflecting jetstreams, overflying rights, congestion etc and bad weather will certainly be one factor. 90 minutes must be a record though.
In the case of New York - Singapore I suppose that it could even affect whether you fly over the Pacific or Atlantic.
The route can vary significantly on long sectors reflecting jetstreams, overflying rights, congestion etc and bad weather will certainly be one factor. 90 minutes must be a record though.
In the case of New York - Singapore I suppose that it could even affect whether you fly over the Pacific or Atlantic.
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It could be that SQ had a lighter load (or a more powerful plane) so that it could fly over the tropical storm... perhaps with light turbulence at times, while MH would have flown lower, through moderate/heavy turbulent areas.
If you have weather details and performance details of the planes involved you can make an informed plan. (And pray it works out...
)
edit:
Thanks for giving the MH captain explanation.
If you have weather details and performance details of the planes involved you can make an informed plan. (And pray it works out...
)edit:
Thanks for giving the MH captain explanation.
Last edited by MathFox; 1st Jan 2012 at 23:52. Reason: I stand corrected
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Peter47
I agree weather diversions are a fact of life but this was a very significant diversion in terms of time.
I have also suffered political diversions flying over Africa, dodging around Angola and similar hotspots.
MathFox
The SQ and MH aircraft are similar, Boeing 777-200, however it is MH who have the higher powered engines, Trent 892's.
When we landed at KLIA, and during the taxi to stand the Captain came on and explained the routing diversion and assurance that it was in the interest of passenger comfort. When I met him later he added that he was as pleased as anyone for the diversion and had not looked forward to the ride through the storm.
I agree weather diversions are a fact of life but this was a very significant diversion in terms of time.
I have also suffered political diversions flying over Africa, dodging around Angola and similar hotspots.
MathFox
The SQ and MH aircraft are similar, Boeing 777-200, however it is MH who have the higher powered engines, Trent 892's.
When we landed at KLIA, and during the taxi to stand the Captain came on and explained the routing diversion and assurance that it was in the interest of passenger comfort. When I met him later he added that he was as pleased as anyone for the diversion and had not looked forward to the ride through the storm.
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Another reason
Instead of the aircraft type, engine type, etc, IMHO, the most likely reason was the decisions made by the MH crew vs the SQ crew.
Some crew fly a fine line close to weather, some give it a larger berth, and some crew attempt to go through it!
As S.I. said
I've flown with captains who have had passengers and flight attendants injured in weather related turbulence. Years later, they're still affected by this and they give storms a larger margin than other captains.
Some crew fly a fine line close to weather, some give it a larger berth, and some crew attempt to go through it!
As S.I. said
When I met him later he added that he was as pleased as anyone for the diversion and had not looked forward to the ride through the storm.
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Peter47
That's quite a weather diversion. Had a longer one flying LHR-HKG of over 7 hours.
A bit of cheating I know. Truth is our flight was delayed by not one but two typhoons hitting Hong Kong one after the other. Our flight was not allowed to depart London until the second typhoon had passed/was passing our destination. Think of the fuel savings by not leaving on time!
Now, do you want to know how many holes there are altogether in the ceiling panels of the Heathrow terminal we were cooped up in?
Na, thought not.
That's quite a weather diversion. Had a longer one flying LHR-HKG of over 7 hours.
A bit of cheating I know. Truth is our flight was delayed by not one but two typhoons hitting Hong Kong one after the other. Our flight was not allowed to depart London until the second typhoon had passed/was passing our destination. Think of the fuel savings by not leaving on time!
Now, do you want to know how many holes there are altogether in the ceiling panels of the Heathrow terminal we were cooped up in?
Na, thought not.
Paxing All Over The World
The most significant divert I had, entailed a completely different route to the one expected. I was doing a project in HKG in the mid 90s and used VS. At the time, the usual route home was South: Thailand/India/Gulf/Med but on my return run at the end of the project, we were told (just before Push) that there was such a big storm to the South that we would go North, almost as far as Bejing before turning West. It added a full hour to the trip but it was a smooth ride.
