(24/05/2013 22:00)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Unfortunately Short Haul when things go wrong are using up valuable take off and landing spots , that would better suit long haul flights.
That is the problem with Heathrow there is no slack for when we get to service pertubation like today .
Would you like Heathrow to tarmac over more villages for a Runway No3 , so that the short haul flights can operate .
No - but LHR capacity wasn't the issue today. It was mass cancellations by BA once the airport was fully operational again. And yes I appreciate some inbound aircraft will be out of place and the operations team would be playing catch up all day, but BA would rather strand thousands of customers in order to have their equipment in the right place for the next cycle.
Unfortunately thats how BA operate and nothing is going to change that.
Heathrow is now getting to unmanageable state if something goes wrong , it seems to need a bit of give in the scheduling but the major flag carriers all seem to want to get in there .
The doors on both engines of the flight that made an emergency landing at Heathrow last week had been left unlatched, investigators have found.
Air accident experts said the coverings - the fan cowl doors - broke off and punctured the right engine's fuel pipe, damaging the aircraft's systems.
A fire then broke out in the right engine of the Airbus A319 British Airways flight to Oslo.
The jet landed safely and its 75 passengers and crew were evacuated.
The aeroplane returned to Heathrow soon after taking off last Friday when black smoke was seen coming from an engine.
The findings were made in an interim report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is examining the cause of the emergency.
What's most worrying is that the cowling latches should be checked on at least three occasions prior to flight (that I'm aware of at any rate). Those stages being: by the maintenance team prior to signing it off fit for service; by flight crew during their walk-around check at which point they should be checking the cowling whilst performing an inspection of the engine structure in general along with fan blade rotation and then finally, they should be checked by ground crew prior to push back in their final checks.
It leaves you wondering how many checks are seemingly being completed to a poor standard and how close other aircraft have come to similar situations. BA and the staff involved at each of the aforementioned stages certainly have a lot to answer for here.
Its only after something like this that the safety system gets audited .
Its incredible that the latches have been missed by some many people thats what is so shocking .
See my post in Dreamliners thread re B787 routes
BA seemed to be having quite a few problems at LHR yesterday with a lot of delays and some cancellations to Milan, Manchester and a couple of other domestics. May have been some equipment issues as Titan 767 G-POWD operated at least one Glasgow service at 18.50.
On a separate note, I see on my travels over the last few weeks that recent repaints are now getting the coat of arms alongside the British Airways Lettering. Previously it had been on the tailfin, but I don't think it has been seen since the debacle of the livery change in 1997, when BA paid consultants millions to advise them to remove the flag from the tail.
I looked up fares from Heathrow T5 to Manchester for next April, and noticed that, like budget airlines, they now charge us £10 for a piece of hold ie not hand luggage. Simon Calder had hinted a few months ago that this was happening but that, conversely, Easyjet were starting to assign seats.
A rare treat on BA1396 today. The equipment was Titan's G-POWC, a B737-33A so-called quick conversion Y130/freighter. Basically a classic 737-300 with a big cargo door forward of the wing. Really great to do a UK domestic on a 737, rather than the ubiquitous A319/20.
I had to go to Bahrain for a couple of days this week - gave me a chance to sample a couple of 777s with the new seating. Outbound I was in Traveller Plus - we had an equipment change - didn't catch the aicraft reg but there were 40 W seats so I presume a 200ER. Very nice - vast improvement over old product.
Coming back this morning I was in Traveller on the regular 200 equipment G-ZZZC. Again a very pleasant aircraft. However seemed to me the new economy seats recline a little further than the old ones - nearly lost my kneecaps when person in front reclined.
New entertainment system superb, particularly with big screen in premium seats.