I am sorry they are not flying the 380 from SFO to FRA. I really enjoyed the 380 pre pandemic. That said, we just flew on the 747-8 to FRA upper deck business and it was like flying on a private jet so I am fine flying the Boeing.

(Written on 05/19/2023)(Permalink)

I guess I would need to understand the efficiency data of whether a a larger plane makes better economic sense or not. Is it actually cheaper to fill a 777 to run once every 3 hours vs. flying a 737 once an hour? Someone obviously knows the revenue per seat to determine the cost benefit when factoring in crew and fuel costs.

(Written on 05/10/2023)(Permalink)

And that's why you are never going to see a single pilot on the flight deck on commercial flights.

(Written on 03/23/2023)(Permalink)

Similar experience listening on channel 9 for me as well. Landing in Denver close to touch down as we were over one of the parking lots, Tower issued a go around due to a vehicle on the runway. A couple of seconds later up we went freaking out the passenger next to me so I had to explain to him what happened before the captain came on the intercom for the explanation.

(Written on 03/14/2023)(Permalink)

We fly Lufthansa 3-4 times a year from SFO to FRA or MUC. I actually like the old business seats since I like a window and my wife likes the aisle. The newer configurations here and on other carriers eliminates the ability to sit next to each other unless we sit in the center seats. Otherwise I like premium economy if not planning on sleeping as the seats are 2 on the side and are like domestic business seats. I will be interested to see the new premium economy seats.

(Written on 03/10/2023)(Permalink)

In 4 weeks I am off to FRA from SFO on Lufthansa 747-8. Upper deck makes you feel like you are on a private plane!! I choose them over United because I like the 747. I once flew on their 747 combi. Got a tour of the back half of the plane where there were 2 cars and horses on the way back to Saudi Arabia.

(Written on 02/27/2023)(Permalink)

Technology will always have an unplanned issue at some time. Last week, after a patient was asleep for surgery, the robot we use malfunctioned and would not boot up. After an hour of trying to fix it, we ended up waking the patient up and rescheduling for another day. Beware of having technology substitute for human ability. Remember that all of this AI, computers for aircraft were developed and built by smart people not machines.

(Written on 02/10/2023)(Permalink)

The single pilot issue is a big deal because a commercial aircraft has a lot of passengers. Most of the time a private general aviation aircraft has one pilot, so does a complex fighter jet. In WW2 British bombers only had a single pilot. If things go wrong then only a limited number of casualties. In commercial aviation to me it is better to have 4 eyes and 2 brains on the flight deck given the potential negative consequences with a couple hundred passengers on board.

(Written on 02/03/2023)(Permalink)

Seems like a lot of news hype to me. An uncontrollable weather balloon off course most likely. The news loves to amp up unnewsworthy stories.

(Written on 02/03/2023)(Permalink)

I have flown on SW since the 1980s traveling back and forth between PHX ( The old brick Terminal 1) and San Antonio usually with a less than 15 minute stop in El Paso. My neighbor was a captain and I flew in the jump seat on 1 occasion when he was my pilot. Things are a lot different now and maybe seat assignments and more hub and spoke service is something they need to consider along with getting a modern scheduling system. Paper and pencil worked 40 years ago when SW was tiny and served the southwest only. It is a huge airline today that should have updates their technology years ago.

(Written on 01/07/2023)(Permalink)