Hurricane Sandy shuts down East Coast US
 

I see Sandys managed to shut down flights into New York, Boston and Philidelphia effective as of tomorrow AM. Aer Lingus + BA cancelled all ops so far...

British Airways News - Latest BA News

It'll save them a packet. Re-book all PAX and save the fuel on all the CNX flights?

BA's load factor to JFK is over 90%, with I think nine wide bodies a day and one A318.

Where exactly do you think these pax will be re booked to? :ugh:

This will cost BA (and others) a packet.

With the competition of course! ;)

They can fly with Virgin, they have operated this evening's flights to New York

VS flights to and from New York, Washington and VS11 to Boston on Monday 29 October 2012 have been cancelled.
Ref Latest news | Virgin Atlantic

Well, discretion being the better part of valour...

KJFK 282325Z 2900/3006 02024G34KT 6SM -DZ OVC020
FM290600 02026G40KT 6SM -RA OVC015
FM291200 02032G45KT 6SM -RA OVC015
FM291500 02037G55KT 5SM RA OVC010
FM291800 04042G60KT 2SM +RA OVC007
FM300000 08045G65KT 2SM +RA OVC007
FM300500 13040G60KT 2SM +RA OVC007

KLGA 282325Z 2900/2924 04025G30KT 6SM -DZ OVC020
FM290600 04026G38KT 6SM -RA OVC015
FM291200 03032G45KT 6SM -RA OVC015
FM291500 02037G55KT 5SM RA OVC010
FM291800 04042G62KT 2SM +RA OVC007
FM292300 06045G65KT 2SM +RA OVC007

Coming from a locale where visibility is in metres or kilometres, is "SM" in the above statute miles?

Vis in SM..
 

Capt. Claret, you are spot on...

Hmm....with a wind of 040/42G60kts should be able to pull up on 04R about half-way. Nice.

May not be desirable to have one's aircraft on the ground on the east coast.
The USN has sent a large part of its Norfolk fleet to sea for a jolly roll around.

That's the spirit!
 

I see at least one airline, an ultra low cost, is braving the storm.

'Spirit Airlines' has an A320 scheduled flight, NK103, from Boston to Fort Lauderdale at 38,000 ft SE of Baltimore. (10:17 UK time) (Plane Finder ? Flight Radar and Live Flight Tracking)

Seems to have flown right down the East coast. And they apparently charge for the coffee on board.

Spirit Airlines
 

Rather them than me :P

Betting 30th will vanish too!
 

KJFK 291051Z 02023G33KT 6SM -RA BR BKN018 OVC023 12/11 A2936 RMK AO2 PK WND 02034/1015 SLP942 P0000 T01220106 $
TAF: KJFK 291120Z 2912/3018 02030G40KT 6SM -RA OVC012
FM291500 02034G45KT 5SM RA OVC008
FM291800 03038G55KT 2SM +RA OVC007
FM300000 08042G60KT 2SM +RA OVC007
FM300200 13045G65KT 3SM SHRA OVC010
FM300500 15038G60KT 4SM -SHRA OVC015
FM301100 16032G50KT 6SM -SHRA BKN035
FM301700 16028G42KT P6SM BKN050

tomorrow looks lovely too!

Will BA/VS etc put on extra a/c? With such high load factors, obviously there are not many seats to pop people onto!

What happens in this kind of scenario?

Flying over or around revolving storms is no big deal provided you keep away from the nasty red bits. The big deal is what happens when you get on the ground.

Given the flight's destination is miles away from the action, I'd say "what's the problem", especially given it's only a Cat 1.

The Carnarsti approach would've been most interesting to watch;)

Shamrogue

Tricky at best - there aren't many if any spare aircraft, there few spare crews (and many out of position, holed up on the eastern seaboard), and no/few spare slots into the likes of LHR. Once the flights start up again they'll obviously fill the flights flights they do operate, and possibly move passengers onto any flights/other carriers that do have spare seats, which might perhaps mean asking people to travel to their intended destinations via alternative routes.

BA's load factor to JFK is over 90%, with I think nine wide bodies a day and one A318.

Headlines: "BA charters QE 3 to replace 10 flights."

The USN has sent a large part of its Norfolk fleet to sea for a jolly roll around. FM300200 13045G65K

But then again, perhaps not. It's their back yard so I assume they know what they are doing.

I see at least one airline, an ultra low cost, is braving the storm.
Seems to have flown right down the East coast. And they apparently charge for the coffee on board.

The gritty bulldog spirit has migrated west. They'll make a fortune on re-fills.

I wonder how long before someone publishes a thread of a/c diverting on fumes. I hope the minimum fuel guys stay at home and let the gas-guzzlers into the ring.

Now I don't want to make the the wrong impression here. I know Sandy is a serious weather system.
But....

I have landed a B737 in 65 kts wind gusts before. I know many others here on the forum have as well. Especially those from the North Western part of Europe. We have storms like this every autumn / winter in these parts.
What makes this so different?
Are our storms here so much different from the Hurricanes? Or have we all been very careless in the past and will the lawyers simply not allow it anymore from now on? Is it all about liability?

What is the max operating ground wind speed for a 737? IIRC the airbus is 60 knots. Ramp operations become very dangerous for ground staff at those wind speeds.

Just because you can do it doesn't mean it is a sensible thing to do.

Better to take a delay, and operate more safely later.