Pilots not allowed to have enough fuel?

[UtterlyUdder]

Just saw this on FOX news... :down:

Are you really surprised? The media sharks smell blood. That's why it was a bad idea for USAPA to go public with this.

 

[PHLfa88]

Are you really surprised? The media sharks smell blood. That's why it was a bad idea for USAPA to go public with this.

Guess we should be looking for another job since USAPA says "USAirways is UNSAFE to fly" GEEZZE Thanks USAPA!

 

[sharktooth]

Just saw an article in the Arizona republic that said the airline pads with 60-90 minutes of extra fuel and these Pilots are consistently over that
So this is not a safety issue despite what the union says it is a control/authority issue.
My question is why does training potentially put the Pilots license at risk?

Arizona Republic.

How many pilots work for the Arizona Republic? Do they have any idea what it takes to fly from Europe to PHL? No? Well aren't you stupid.

 

[UtterlyUdder]

After Larry King tonight, Anderson Cooper will also be talking about US Airways with this entire fuel fiasco. This is an interesting night on CNN indeed!

:blink: So you think this is the end of it? Just wait until tomorrow! As I said, the media sharks are circling. Bad move by USAPA THis should have been kept in house. I abhor ALPO and have so much looked forward to calmer heads at the helm of USAPA and I'll give them this one but it should not happen again. USAir doesn't need days of bad press! They get enough of that all by themselves.

 

[UPNAWAY]

Look if it is a saftey issue I have faith the pilots will not fly, simple as that.
Can anyone explain why training puts ones liscense at risk?

 

[PHLfa88]

Arizona Republic.

How many pilots work for the Arizona Republic? Do they have any idea what it takes to fly from Europe to PHL? No? Well aren't you stupid.

I have been flying to Europe all spring and summer and not one of my Captians has said that we don't have enough fuel to get to our destination! Period!

 

[Dog Wonder]

Just saw an article in the Arizona republic that said the airline pads with 60-90 minutes of extra fuel and these Pilots are consistently over that
So this is not a safety issue despite what the union says it is a control/authority issue.
My question is why does training potentially put the Pilots license at risk?

Training is supervised by the FAA.

If a pilot does anything unsafe in training it is considered doing something unsafe in flight by the FAA.

Pilots considered 'too safe' because they requested fuel beyond the amounts some egghead on the ground thought necessary have been singled out for additional training under FAA supervision. If they err on the side of frugality the pilot is cited, not the egghead.

Who do you want to have 'control/authority' when you fly? The Captain or the egghead on the ground.

 

[sharktooth]

Look if it is a saftey issue I have faith the piloys will not fly, simple as that.
Can anyone explain why training puts ones liscense at risk?

Your faith is misplaced. I know personally of pilots who will do anything to "save" the company.

 

[UPNAWAY]

It is obviously not a saftey issue but one of authority. And I might be on the Pilots side on this one, but for the union to make it sound as if saftey is at risk that is wrong.

I am still waiting for someone to explain the potential risk of "Extra Training".

 

[SolidCactus]

Ok, US is starting to scare me more and more every day. Are they doing their maintenance? The more stories that keep coming out about ways this airline is trying to save money just makes me worry more and more.

 

[sharktooth]

I have been flying to Europe all spring and summer and not one of my Captians has said that we don't have enough fuel to get to our destination! Period!

Yes, because they added enough fuel to make it. Are you like, stupid?

 

[Dog Wonder]

It is obviously not a saftey issue but one of authority. And I might be on the Pilots side on this one, but for the union to make it sound as if saftey is at risk that is wrong.

I am still waiting for someone to explain the potential risk of "Extra Training".

Read post #67, slowly.

 

[GuntherA320]

I have been flying to Europe all spring and summer and not one of my Captians has said that we don't have enough fuel to get to our destination! Period!

How many times in the last year did the captain tell you how much fuel they had remaining at the end of the flight PHLfa88?

 

[PHLfa88]

How many times in the last year did the captain tell you how much fuel they had remaining at the end of the flight PHLfa88?

Well GEEEZE They did not come out of the cockpit and say "OMG We only have enough fuel to make it on the Sly" !! If you work for US I would look for another job my friend...USAPA just about put the nail in coffin!

 

[hp_fa]

Just saw an article in the Arizona republic that said the airline pads with 60-90 minutes of extra fuel and these Pilots are consistently over that
So this is not a safety issue despite what the union says it is a control/authority issue.

60-90 minutes more than what? The direct path to the primary scheduled airport? If that is the case 60-90 minutes may not be enough. What happens if bad weather sets in? What happens if the primary airport needs to close for some reason? There are a lot of potential things that can and do happen that can eat that fuel margin the PR folks at the airline fed the Republic.

Here is a quick story just to illustrate what can happen.

I was working a flight from PHX-BOS. It was a mid-to-late afternoon flight scheduled into Boston about midnight. Boston weather was VFR so no added fuel was loaded for an alternate, just the normal fuel load for that planned routing and an additional 45 minutes of flight time. As we were descending into a very VFR BOS the airport closed. Someone working on The Big Dig had severed the electrical supply lines to the runway lighting.

We were probably about 15,000' when the descent was stopped and we entered a holding pattern. I got called to the flight deck and the captain told me that we had been told to expect a 30 minute hold and that we could really only hold about 20 minutes before we would have to head for BDL due to fuel. About 18 minutes later they got the lights working and we made a direct approach and landing into BOS.

BTW, if we had to go to BDL we would have had two more issues. One, the flight deck had been unable to get any response from BDL Ops regarding a possible diversion. Two, the crew would have probably timed-out if we had to have landed in BDL, even if it had just been a fuel stop.

The moral of the story? Things can and do go wrong.