"BA are proposing that their employees pay for it."

Agreed :cool:

What was the comment AA's crews adopted when there was industrial unrest - something akin to -
"We will not subsidize the travelling public in moving forward" ... too true , some tickets are still ridiculously cheap..£4.99/9.99 etc.... if they lose you money,don't carry them ;)

This situation is a lot more serious than I and many others will think!

BA have stated that if the price of oil is sustained at or above $120 then it will be operating at a loss! The way things are going... the FY08/09 could not be a positive as first thought!

Realistically, the life of the present fuel charge arrangement has a limited shelf life since on domestic routes we will see the surcharge being more than the fare in some cases!

I live a few miles between a modest regional class airport's initial approach fix and outer marker.

While frequently observing landing aircraft, I am amazed at those that drag an airliner (with the gear down) the entire approach distance vs. those that coast then drop gear at / about the outer marker. To me, efficiency separates perfected skill from the mere drivers.

I live about 2 miles from EDDB 25L OM,

NO ONE apart from the odd Ilyushin drops the gear before the OM and the boys in Orange often fly a tight visual final turn leaving it even later. Suites me keeps the noise down too.

Are their engines spooled up? They may just always be high for some reason (airspace restrictions, etc....)

of course if the "constant descent approach" given by the controllers has left you high and fast again, the gear out at 10 miles actually saves fuel as you don't have to go around... :E

After years on fuel analysis comit's and developing techniques to reduce fuel consumption, I find myself in an operation who's policy is to land with a minimum of 15,000 Kilograms of fuel; practice is most often between 20 and 25 tonnes. But then again, when the owner also owns the purported 2nd largest oil reseve, I don't see the problem of cost. I do, however, see an environmental issue; as should PositveRate876...

Because Richard Branson is expecting Peak Oil within 6 years, he is busy developing alternative fuels. He is also expecting that oil prices will 'go through the roof' within that time frame.

http://globalpublicmedia.com/branson...ledges_peakoil

Interesting years ahead...:bored:

We are all getting so good at Flaps 0 landings after Flaps Fail messages in the CRJ2 that it might just become our everyday technique. That combined with limiting the use of reverse thrust will leave only destinations with 13,000+ft runways as part of our route structure. As long as tires and brakes don't get more expensive....

rcl

He'll have to do better than his latest "exploits" re:

towing aircraft all the way instead of taxi under power (nose gear gets a bit stressed)

that "green" flight which only actually used 5% biofuel....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle3516551.ece (I assume it's accurate)

some airline t/off with packs off(no PAX off :p)...so less power required during t/off.

airline just increase their ticket price, so nothing to worry about fuel...
you can still travel by swiming, runing, walking, riding,...

From the Air New Zealand website:

IATA has made suggestions that we believe will ad up to big savings. As a result we are introducing simple but effective measures, such as:

"Looking closely at the weight of paper, charts and documentation our pilots carry on board each aircraft."

IEA: no likely relief from oil prices

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/finan.../D8VB6PRO0.htm

Gasoline: Painful, and getting worse

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/11/news...tion/index.htm

etc, etc.


On a positive note, we are witnessing an unique period in the world history!

We're diluting it with water. :uhoh:
(tap water of course, bottled water is so damaging to the environment :})

...don't worry guys, I confidently expect that it will be us PAX who ultimately get to pick up the tab (after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, media interviews etc on the part of the management). It may suck, but that's OK. It's life.

(Now where's my drilling equipment, I'm sure there must be oil under the Mendips.....)

US$100 aint what it used to be. It helps if your revenues are in any other currency.

JetBlue's solution: CTL! The same stuff Hitler used to run his war machine, cheap but dirty.

http://www.energyandcapital.com/arti...-awareness/271

(scroll a little down)

How are we coping with it? I´m taking more fuel tomorrow! ;)

ICAO news release (pdf):

"Fuel being the lifeblood of aviation, what looms on the horizon for commercial air transport in terms of fuel prices and adequacy of supplies?"

http://www.icao.int/icao/en/nr/1979/pio197914_e.pdf

Oh, it's from 1979...

Not to set off a big hullaballoo, but BA038 proved that you can land and not kill people when you don't have all the thrust you'd like, when you'd like it.

"Attention, folks, we're on approach now. As we trim for our landing, you will notice that the cabin will become dark and the airconditioning will stop. Don't panic - we're saving the fuel you didn't pay for so our stockholders won't feel any sort of financial pinch, and this [yadda] aircraft has proven itself perfectly capable of landing without any thrust from the engines under emergency conditions, a situation which your budget-priced ticket has ensured you will have to experience. Please remember to remove any personal belongings still contained in the overhead compartments before departing the aircraft. Please thank your cabin crew for working so hard to please you..."

B73-5s and A300s will rule the day at this point... LOL!


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