I've never heard jokes, but certainly plenty of apologies and the odd sarcastic comment.
This so-called Polderbaan (runway 18R/36L) is closer to the city of Haarlem than to the Schiphol passengers terminals. It has been built solely for noise abatement reasons, and because it lacks parallel taxiways it can only be used for take-offs in a northerly direction (36L), and only for landings in a southerly (18R). The photograph in Threy's post illustrates this nicely. There are only three exits for landing aircraft, whereas 18C/36C in the right of the picture has a parallel taxiway along its entire length, with a full set of (highspeed) turn-offs. Because traffic to/from the Polderbaan has to skirt or cross the Zwanenburgbaan (18C/36C), the latter is not be used if the former is, and vice versa. In other words, the new runway has not resulted in any capacity increase whatsoever.
Originally Posted by Threy
a 15 minute taxi from E4 requires a good speed on the ground.
It does, and they airlines must love the increased fuel burn and tire wear. The taxiway to the Polderbaan runs parallel to the A5 freeway for some distance, and I remember an occasion last December when our aircraft, a Fairchild-Dornier 328 turboprop, actually taxied faster than the vehicles on the freeway!
Originally Posted by Threy
every time I am on a KL flight to Schiphol and we are on time or made up some time in the air, I fear we touch down on the PB.
My impression is that the Polderbaan is used mainly afternoons and evenings, either for take-offs or landings, depending on wind direction.
I wonder if this new runway has effected on-time performance, especially for KLM, Schiphol's biggest user by far. On several occasions I have almost missed connections because a delayed departure from the gate was exacerbated by the long hike to the Polderbaan. Fifteen minutes can make all the difference.
johan