TO ensure competent new hires who will trained into competent line pilots, airlines are setting up flight acadamies that train to a standard with a number of hours that make that training meaningful. With the military training less pilots and less pilots leaving to find airline jobs, unquestionably qualified candidates are fewer and further between. And that is in this (USA) country. Where the Pakki's and Lion Air's find their upfronters is a mystery to me, with horrible results. Perhaps foreign carriers can send their candidates to some such academy, whether it be in England, The united states, or Singapore. As long as these pilots are graduates from some place with a petigree, we are more confident as passengers. Foreign carriers may choose to swallow their pride and shame to get pilots of better quality. Lufthansa trained in arizona, Aer Lingus trained in melbourne, florida or was it Vero Beach , florida. ?

(Written on 27.05.2020)(Permalink)

with the days of handflying all but gone, with pilots morphing into "systems managers", i am not surprised that accidents occur that have at root cause the disconnect the pilot of today feels from the pilot of yesterday. I don't like or trust automation, i don't like very much Garmin's next new great idea of autolanding in an emergency, because there is no stopping a stupid idea from spreading when small minds think they have seen the light. Pilots land gear up when they are too lazy to run all the parts of a check list, period, sometimes because they have crossed too many time zones with not enough proper rest, sometimes because they sit in a comfortable chair being fat, dumb and happy.

(Written on 26.05.2020)(Permalink)

Put your faith into crewless fully automated airliners- it even sounds silly-and you will have plenty of seperation between other demented believers in unnecessary automation in the passenger cabin. social distancing will occcur by reason of sufficient brain cells in operation coupled with a self preservation drive.

(Written on 26.05.2020)(Permalink)

I am hearing the death knell of the 747 earlier than I expected. Not happy about that . Other than the inability to fill these beauties with paying riders in numbers and revenue that come close sometimes to breakeven. Another big chunk of charm will not be among us. Guess retirement means euthanasia.......I aleady miss them. Think for a moment about every airline that flew these- PanAm, Brannif, Delta, United, American, and a few hundred more operaters, and see the colors of these hundreds of planes.

(Written on 25.05.2020)(Permalink)

this aircraft was such a logical, good idea up until the viral tsunami rolled up. The A380 , in retrospect, was dumb from the get-go, but the 777X- a program worth keeping , and an aircraft that ought to fit in profitably, is one hopeful outcome in this aviation nightmare. It would be nice, perhaps unusual, if Boeing truly build a proper aircraft, engines and all, that had few ghastly surprises.

(Written on 17.05.2020)(Permalink)

does delta truly believe the 350-900 is an adequate substitute one for one with their 777 aircraft on any route and every route? They might think the customer levels will not support any triple-7 for many months, until which sufficient numbers of 350's will have arrived , with no loss to the company in capacity. The pilot's salaries ought to be comparable, since these planes require high seniority to bid and keep, and the fuel cost are lower, and they are newer, smell better and are Not-Boeing.

(Written on 16.05.2020)(Permalink)

i cannot fathom the reasoning??? of any adult who declines to wear a proper mask inside an enclosed space with other people close by. They should not be allowed to endanger other more socially aware passengers, so masks ought to be available at the gate for any who lack one, and all must wear one at all times. Any person who refuses to keep their mask on should be turned over to the authorities at the destination and subjected to fines and other punishments. Period...

(Written on 16.05.2020)(Permalink)

this A321LR works best as wet dreams for airline accountants who never sit in coach. This plane is not big enough to space seats far enough apart to creat comfort for the 6 hour or so flight, no matter what fancy name is give to the seat configuration, or the mood lighting, or the fashions worn by the cabin crew.

(Written on 15.05.2020)(Permalink)

Not often do we get to see a fine product that was part of a market misreading the scope and size that Airbus committed with the A380. French hubris on full display has been remarkable, and painful to see. Nice aircraft, stunning cockpit, lots of seats, huge fuel tanks, a beautiful take-off roll and majestic lift off and climb out: but, a market misjudgment beyond compare. There are few real markets for this plane at the moment, but the warning signs were clear: no american carriers wanted to buy and fly this beast.so except for a few national flag carriers keeping up with each other, and one middle eastern monolith- that was it. A business plan lesson for the ages.

(Written on 15.05.2020)(Permalink)

bring some scientific test results, and watch people get on your flights. maybe.....

(Written on 06.05.2020)(Permalink)