I was walking through DTW today and overheard that flight 275 was going to stop in ANC. I pulled it up and looks like that caused a delay of over an hour. I'm not usually one to put up a post to ask about this, but was wondering if anybody had any insight into this.
But at 6400 miles, this is getting close to the upper end of the 744 range... If the flight was full and had a particularly heavy cargo payload, combined with stronger than usual headwinds forecast or other meteorological conditions, this could require a refuelling stop in Anchorage.
Touching down in ANC vs flying direct only adds about 80 miles to the total distance according to Great Circle Mapper - again, not a specific aviation flight planning tool and an "informational site" - but point being ANC is not too far out the way for a fuel stop on this route.
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I remember years ago, NW flew daily DC-10s from ANC/NRT. I had a simply amazing award trip to BKK with a 6 night stopover in ANC on the way back! It was truly fantastic, as BKK was 10 degrees cooler then usual & ANC was 10 degrees warmer than usual for June! I'll never forget that trip! Sitting in the ANC airport parking lot watching huge planes land as the sun came up, then, all of a sudden, a moose walked by maybe 100 feet from me!
Anyway, my post doesn't do anything to answer the OP - - just a minute of fun for me to reminisce!! Thanx for listening!
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I believe that ongoing runway construction at Detroit Metro airport is resulting in weight restrictions for Delta trans-pacific flights originating in Detroit and are expected to continue until sometime in August. Perhaps someone can confirm?
This could very well be one of the reasons why subject flight made fuel-stop in ANC. I'm sure Delta did everything possible to avoid fuel stop unless absolutely necessary after taking all proactive steps with these weight restrictions excluding some uncontrollable issues like local weather conditions at time of departure from Detroit (e.g. temperature, winds, etc). Hopefully ANC was prepared for quick "gas-n-go" :-)
I believe that ongoing runway construction at Detroit Metro airport is resulting in weight restrictions for Delta trans-pacific flights originating in Detroit and are expected to continue until sometime in August. Perhaps someone can confirm?
This could very well be one of the reasons why subject flight made fuel-stop in ANC. I'm sure Delta did everything possible to avoid fuel stop unless absolutely necessary after taking all proactive steps with these weight restrictions excluding some uncontrollable issues like local weather conditions at time of departure from Detroit (e.g. temperature, winds, etc). Hopefully ANC was prepared for quick "gas-n-go" :-)
So is this going to effect all TPAC flights into both NRT and NGO? I have a flight DTW>NGO on July 22 and wonder if this is going to be the case for my flight?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by craig44485
So is this going to effect all TPAC flights into both NRT and NGO? I have a flight DTW>NGO on July 22 and wonder if this is going to be the case for my flight?
Stuff happens. On my first trip to Japan in '93, I was flying DTW-ORD-NRT (the DTW-NRT nonstop was full in J) on a 742 for the ORD-NRT leg, and because of abnormal headwinds we had to make a quick pitstop in ANC. It really amounted to landing, taxiing to a remote part of the airport where the fuel trucks were waiting, getting the fuel, and leaving. IIRC, it added maybe 75 minutes to the scheduled flight time all told.
While we were fueling, the FA's opened the aircraft doors so we could get some fresh air. One of the many Japanese businessmen on the flight asked "What would you do if I lit a cigarette now?" The FA's answer was quick: "We'd throw you out that door onto the concrete."
Not sure what weather is like in DTW, but I have family who live about 90 minutes south of DTW and they were reporting temps yesterday of 106. That could certainly impact operations.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Detroiter
Stuff happens. On my first trip to Japan in '93, I was flying DTW-ORD-NRT (the DTW-NRT nonstop was full in J) on a 742 for the ORD-NRT leg, and because of abnormal headwinds we had to make a quick pitstop in ANC. It really amounted to landing, taxiing to a remote part of the airport where the fuel trucks were waiting, getting the fuel, and leaving. IIRC, it added maybe 75 minutes to the scheduled flight time all told.
While we were fueling, the FA's opened the aircraft doors so we could get some fresh air. One of the many Japanese businessmen on the flight asked "What would you do if I lit a cigarette now?" The FA's answer was quick: "We'd throw you out that door onto the concrete."
From the uppder-deck!
The tri-county area was seeing +100F. It's been brutual here in DTW, yet at least the humidity is reasonable.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dll
Not sure what weather is like in DTW, but I have family who live about 90 minutes south of DTW and they were reporting temps yesterday of 106. That could certainly impact operations.
The DTW record for today is 95F, and the normal high 83F. Maybe a pilot will come here and explain by how much range declines for a 744 at max payload given these temps above Boeing range/weight standard.
Nobody want to get to NRT late. Nobody wants to miss a connection. But if a pilot indicates an ANC fuel stop is what he needs to do to fly safely, I can sit down and clam up.
Not sure what weather is like in DTW, but I have family who live about 90 minutes south of DTW and they were reporting temps yesterday of 106. That could certainly impact operations.
That sounds like a very valid reason. One of the first things a good flight instructor drills into a new pilot is to consider the Thre H's before every takeoff. Hot, High, and Humid. All three lower air density which lowers engine performance and wing lift and increases the runway length needed. At 106 degrees DTW may not have a runway long enough for a 744 at max takeoff weight. Don't want to lower revenue by removing pax or cargo, so leave off some fuel and pick up some in ANC.
Most of my DTW/MSP to Asia flights have gone very near ANC, so as noted it is not far out of the way, but I have never had to stop there.
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So is this going to effect all TPAC flights into both NRT and NGO? I have a flight DTW>NGO on July 22 and wonder if this is going to be the case for my flight?
Hard to predict the weather (both wind & temp) as well as the freight and pax loads on 7/22 !
If it's 105, the runway is shorter, the flight is full, there is heavy freight, headwinds above normal and maybe WX which requires a reroute, maybe a fuel stop will be needed.
But, rest assured, such a stop costs DL a small fortune. It will do anything safe that it can do avoid making one.
In fact, it appears that it set one up for today and then found that the aircraft could safely make the NRT hop and did not divert.
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I'm guessing that part of the reason for the fuel stop is the heat wave. A contributing factor might also be that if this is a reconfigured 747, the new nose to tail AVOD system might have added some weight to the aircraft. My understanding is that the TPAC NRT routes carry a lot of cargo.
How many OAL tickets and hotel rooms will DL need to purchase due to misconnects?
But it's delayed for an hour for some unknown reason.
1-hour on a TPAC against headwinds is nothing. That is a common delay on East-West TCON's against heavier than usual headwinds.
Misconnects don't really cost DL much. Carriers honor each others' tickets roughly, hotel rooms are sold in bulk and DL isn't likely to provide them for a WX diversion other than premium / elites
