The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

owenc

Well i'm just basing my experience on flying from Derry and Belfast. And in Derry the flight attendants are always foreign were as from Belfast we have locals.

My observations are correct.

Cessna_Pilot

Where is STD?

martinsvi

Locker10a wrote: »

In fairness he is right and its simply because as has been mentioned easyJet like every other airline hire for specific bases so the tend to get more locals !

that doesn't mean anything, even if they hire for a specific base, anyone can apply, can they not? Nothing stopping an EU resident relocating for the job they want, especially in the airline industry.

owenc wrote: »

My observations are correct.

can't argue with that. Next time on your flight from Belfast, take a good look at crew name tags where they identify what languages they speak in, and ask yourself, how many locals do you know who efficiently speak in more than one language. Who knows, maybe Belfast isn't the most attractive place for foreign crew, definitely not the case in Bristol, Luton and Stansted

owenc

It must be the same for Edinburgh aswell then.

Locker10a

martinsvi wrote: »

that doesn't mean anything, even if they hire for a specific base, anyone can apply, can they not? Nothing stopping an EU resident relocating for the job they want, especially in the airline industry

Absolutely correct and there are people from all over the world working for easyJet but the point is the because of the way easyJet hire they have less crew placed in places other than their home country than ryanair this is simply a fact easyJet hirel locally for specific bases yes anyone can apply and relocate themselves if they wish but itts not the same at ryanair they hire the crew first then place them in a base hence loads of Irish cabin crew living in Hahn, Reus, Prestwick , Bristol , stansted etc. at ryanair you apply for a lifestyle that means the company relocate you at easyJet you apply for a local job in the airport of your choice hence people from Liverpool tend to be based in Liverpool and people from Paris tend to be based in Paris !

Growler!!!

Derry is not a base for ryanair, therefore none of the crew will be "local". The rotation into and out of Derry could be from any base in Europe.

owenc

Yes I know Derry isn't a base but the flights are nearly all from GB and basically none of the flight attendants on these flights are British.

owenc

Locker10a wrote: »

Absolutely correct and there are people from all over the world working for easyJet but the point is the because of the way easyJet hire they have less crew placed in places other than their home country than ryanair this is simply a fact easyJet hirel locally for specific bases yes anyone can apply and relocate themselves if they wish but itts not the same at ryanair they hire the crew first then place them in a base hence loads of Irish cabin crew living in Hahn, Reus, Prestwick , Bristol , stansted etc. at ryanair you apply for a lifestyle that means the company relocate you at easyJet you apply for a local job in the airport of your choice hence people from Liverpool tend to be based in Liverpool and people from Paris tend to be based in Paris !

Is it actually like that in Dublin? Are the Irish ones sent to Europe aswell?

Growler!!!

owenc wrote: »

Yes I know Derry isn't a base but the flights are nearly all from GB and basically none of the flight attendants on these flights are British.

Good man, then you'll know that the Ryan's will operate for example a flight from Poland to the UK, then a shorter flight to Derry. Another short flight to Scotland and then back to Poland. The crew based in Poland may not be "local" either. But you knew that:D.

Wicklowleaid

smurfjed wrote: »

When did Ryanair start flying to Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport (STD) in Venezuela ?

I'm not surprised that you didn't see too many English flight attendants there!

Pure Gold got a great laugh out of this one!

basill

A "W pattern" is the technical term. Crew could start from literally anywhere across the network and fly in and out of Derry during the day to return to their home base once their duty was complete.

billie1b

basill wrote: »

A "W pattern" is the technical term. Crew could start from literally anywhere across the network and fly in and out of Derry during the day to return to their home base once their duty was complete.

Good point, a few examples I can give from Dublin were :

DUB - LGW / LGW - NOC / NOC - LGW / LGW - DUB

DUB - BVA / BVA - FEZ or RAK / FEZ or RAK - BVA / BVA - DUB

DUB - LGW / LGW - PSA / PSA - LGW / LGW - DUB

Not 100% positive on the FEZ/RAK route, I know it was to Morocco but cant remember which airport, all crew were Dublin based and of all nationalities world wide

Locker10a

owenc wrote: »

Is it actually like that in Dublin? Are the Irish ones sent to Europe aswell?

Yes there are loads and Irish scattered all over the base networks and loads of British and Spanish and Italian etc. in Dublin ! Nationality or language has no pull on where you get based unlike easyJet where the majority* of people have to speak the local language

Jack1985

billie1b wrote: »

Not 100% positive on the FEZ/RAK route, I know it was to Morocco but cant remember which airport, all crew were Dublin based and of all nationalities world wide

SNN based FR staff had a nice little run this Summer to Paris-Beauvais and Rabat in Morocco, SNN-BVA-RBA-BVA-SNN.

Locker10a

Jack1985 wrote: »

SNN-BVA-RBA-BVA-SNN.

Yuck 😵😦😱

billie1b

Jack1985 wrote: »

SNN based FR staff had a nice little run this Summer to Paris-Beauvais and Rabat in Morocco, SNN-BVA-RBA-BVA-SNN.

Most crews worst days will involve a flight in and out of Morocco, they all hate it

owenc

Locker10a wrote: »

Yes there are loads and Irish scattered all over the base networks and loads of British and Spanish and Italian etc. in Dublin ! Nationality or language has no pull on where you get based unlike easyJet where the majority* of people have to speak the local language

Oh I guess I won't be looking to work for them then.

Jack1985

billie1b wrote: »

Most crews worst days will involve a flight in and out of Morocco, they all hate it

Can't blame them, wouldn't be able to cope with a rostered day like that!

pastorbarrett

Question for ya's...

So, even a cursory glance at aviation herald has convinced me that it is worthwhile staying buckled up when possible. My question is:

Why is it that incidences of turbulence causing injury generally occur on the descent? Presumably it's due to flying into the weather? Though no doubt they do exist, I've yet to read of similar events occurring in the climb. Also, and more juicily , how often do you guys encounter moderate to severe turbulence? And if you'll permit me, do you suspect or know if such incidences are on the rise due to factors like global warming/ weather changing?

Thanks in advance...

bkehoe

Quite simply the winds change at different altitudes. At high attitude one could be in an area of weather influenced by a high speed core of air, a jet stream. This could quite easily exceed 100kts. Upper level winds can be very strong even if not associated with a jetstream as depicted on a significant weather chart.

It's in the transition between high speed winds and lower speed winds that turbulence can occur in the descent. As there is a significant change in velocity and direction in a small distance there are often eddy currents and turbulent air can be found here.

As to why this is more often experienced in descent than climb, then purely as an opinion, because in the descent we descent at a much lower vertical speed and airspeed than as in the climb in my airline anyway. We may descend at 1200fpm, and illuminate the fasten belts sign 20 - 15 mins before landing but passengers can often be reluctant to secure themselves. However during the climb, passengers have been verified to have their belts fastened on the ground and thus the cabin is secure till the pilots are sure they're above turbulent air. In the climb, we get above the air that is most likely to be turbulent much quicker.

Moderate turbulence I've probably only experienced once, and at the lower end of the scale. This was in an area at cruising altitude (think we were at FL360) where 2 jetstreams were essentially meeting head on, so we were going from a 150kt tailwind to a 100kt headwind in around 50 miles. We had to descend to a low flight level (260) to get out from the turbulent air for a few hundred miles. Due to Sigmets and pilot reports we were expecting it and had the cabin secure well in advance though.

dutopia

I live in Portmarnock and regularly see aircraft on their final approach into Dublin airport. I have noticed Emirates 777s (I think 777s!) jets come in quite a bit lower than B737s and A320s, why is this? Do certain kinds of aircraft have a slightly different glide slope or do airline companies have their own way of making an approach?

Cessna_Pilot

dutopia wrote: »

I live in Portmarnock and regularly see aircraft on their final approach into Dublin airport. I have noticed Emirates 777s (I think 777s!) jets come in quite a bit lower than B737s and A320s, why is this? Do certain kinds of aircraft have a slightly different glide slope or do airline companies have their own way of making an approach?

They're at the same height, they're just so much larger that they look closer than usual!

dutopia

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

They're at the same height, they're just so much larger that they look closer than usual!

I'm quite sure they're at different heights, I may be wrong... maybe some kind of illusion. I'll try taking some photos and posting them up.

Cessna_Pilot

dutopia wrote: »

I'm quite sure they're at different heights, I may be wrong... maybe some kind of illusion. I'll try taking some photos and posting them up.

It is an illusion, because they're such a larger aircraft. At Portmarnock they're on the Glideslope so whether it's a 737 or 777 they're at roughly the same height.

dutopia

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

It is an illusion, because they're such a larger aircraft. At Portmarnock they're on the Glideslope so whether it's a 737 or 777 they're at roughly the same height.

Thanks for clearing that up!

sjb25

dutopia wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that up!

Download the flight radar app and you will see the altitude

tricky D

As well as 'appearing' to be closer, the heavies like A330s and 777s also 'appear' to be slower. The relative sizes produce the illusion.

For an example of how illusory this kind of stuff is, take a look at the heavies from half way up Howth Hill. They look a lot closer than they are, like they are over the near side of Ireland's Eye or over Howth Sound when they are actually routing parallel to and just behind the back of the island, a lot further away.

smurfjed

because in the descent we descent at a much lower vertical speed and airspeed than as in the climb in my airline anyway. We may descend at 1200fpm

May i ask why? we generally descend at a gradient which is adjusted based on the winds. Our seat belt policy is to keep it on to an altitude that is about 1/2 the ground temperature, so we can keep it on up to 25,000 feet, on the way down, its part of the descent checklist so its on right from the beginning of the descent with the landing lights.

owenc

Is the westjet flight year round next year? Or is it longer??

eatmyshorts

owenc wrote: »

Is the westjet flight year round next year? Or is it longer??

Longer than year round? Great Scott, it must be some kind of DeLorean!!

P. S.
Post completely unrelated to the thread, again.