My husband is at LGA waiting to get on a flight to MIA which just keeps getting delayed. Initially when the flight got delayed, they said the incoming flight from MIA got diverted to JFK for a mechanical problem. Then a spare plane from JFK was sent over to LGA for their flight, but when it got to LGA it had to be defueled due to the short distance.
Does AA really do this - shuttle a plane over a 10 mile distance? I had images in my head of a plane getting towed down the VanWyck but then I figured that must not be how they get the planes between the two airports. Or is someone not telling the full story here? It could be AA or my husband, hard to know since I'm not there myself.
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It sounds like the aircraft was originally scheduled for another schedule, but was repurposed. The aircraft might be fuelled for a longer trip and not be able to land at LGA with a fullish load of fuel - it could be quite unsafe, and exceed the aircraft's operating envelope.
And the aircraft will most likely have to be refuelled on arriving at LGA, just to add a bit more bitterness to the concoction. AA would have loved to avoid all of this due to time, opportunity and operation costs.
You are quite correct: they can not just tow an aircraft down the Van Wyck or FedEx it, even if it really, really needs to be there.
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My husband is at LGA waiting to get on a flight to MIA which just keeps getting delayed. Initially when the flight got delayed, they said the incoming flight from MIA got diverted to JFK for a mechanical problem. Then a spare plane from JFK was sent over to LGA for their flight, but when it got to LGA it had to be defueled due to the short distance.
Does AA really do this - shuttle a plane over a 10 mile distance? I had images in my head of a plane getting towed down the VanWyck but then I figured that must not be how they get the planes between the two airports. Or is someone not telling the full story here? It could be AA or my husband, hard to know since I'm not there myself.
Yes AA from time to time shuttles an a/c between JFK and LGA. I remember going to the gate waiting for a 757 and a full crew got off the thing at LGA and a new full crew took over.
Moreover, shuttling empty planes with crew between airports happens at all airlines.
This happens more than you might think. I was on an AE ATR 72 flight once out of MIA that showed the a/c coming in from FLL, which is like 30 miles away. I figured it had just finished a Cuba charter, and obviously no one really wants or needs to fly from FLL to MIA (unless you're going for segments )
Conversely, I also remember the days not too long ago flying Skywest from LAX to SNA and ONT as revenue flights. Now those were short flights!
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In the 1990s CO regularly ferried a 757 from EWR to LGA at about 11:00, in order to position the aircraft for an ex-LGA flight. Non-revs were allowed to book on the "flight", which had a 9xxx number in the computer system.
And the aircraft will most likely have to be refuelled on arriving at LGA, just to add a bit more bitterness to the concoction. AA would have loved to avoid all of this due to time, opportunity and operation costs
Yes, he mentioned it would have to be refueled.
Maybe his upgrade will clear (he was #5 on the list) and this will be a distant memory soon enough.
Now that I think about it, nearly 100% of my IRROPs happen when my husband is with me. When he flies by himself, he seems to have a much higher encounter of IRROPs than when I fly by myself. He apparently has an affinity for planes about to go mechanical.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sent
Yes, he mentioned it would have to be refueled.
Maybe his upgrade will clear (he was #5 on the list) and this will be a distant memory soon enough.
Now that I think about it, nearly 100% of my IRROPs happen when my husband is with me. When he flies by himself, he seems to have a much higher encounter of IRROPs than when I fly by myself. He apparently has an affinity for planes about to go mechanical.
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I know the positioning flights with metropolitan areas happen frequently, but I'm amazed by the number of scheduled flights that are very short. I do a lot of ORD-MKE on American Connection and American Eagle. I love it when the pilot announces that our planned flight time is 17 minutes. CO used to fly a shuttle multiple times per day from IAH to HOU using a DC-9. UA Express used to fly non-stop LAX-SNA. - A little further than JFK-LGA but not much.
I'm actually a bit surprised that it's not considered more cost-effective to bus pax from LGA over to JFK instead of ferrying the plane, but I'm sure there's more to it than that.
I'm actually a bit surprised that it's not considered more cost-effective to bus pax from LGA over to JFK instead of ferrying the plane, but I'm sure there's more to it than that.
That's true. Maybe the logistics of all the baggage for a large plane isn't worth it? They certainly do for a small number of pax who have missed a connection.
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CO had a short-lived daily EWR-HPN flight a few years ago. AS flew SFO-OAK (12 miles) mainline for years (ironically, only in one directly). CO used to fly a regularly scheduled flight a few times a day (again short-lived) from IAH to EFD (southside of Houston).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sts603
CO had a short-lived daily EWR-HPN flight a few years ago. AS flew SFO-OAK (12 miles) mainline for years (ironically, only in one directly). CO used to fly a regularly scheduled flight a few times a day (again short-lived) from IAH to EFD (southside of Houston).
Lot of people took that flight because EFD had free parking. In many cases adding the tag-on flight was cheaper than paying for an IAH lot, let alone gas and tolls.
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