<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by terenz:
BA 84/85 YVR-LHR was delayed only 1 1/2 hours so the incoming flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours at most.
As for why certain airlines can fly in adverse conditions, maybe it's due to 1) equipment, 2) company policy, 3) country regulation and/or 4) crew training?
Some relatives were trying to fly SEA-YVR a few years ago. Their QX DH8 circled YVR in the fog and diverted back to SEA while the CP DH8s just went into the fog and landed. AS/QX claims to have invested in equipment to land in limited-visibility conditions - CP never made any such claims. When I was flying back from SEA the other day, QX was warning that conditions were deteriorating somewhere in Washington state and YYC due to fog and snow respectively, and that the 2 flights there may be diverted back to SEA if conditions were foul.
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AS outfitted most of its 737's and MD-80's with heads-up displays several years ago, as many of their Alaska stations experience horrific fog, especially in the winter. (I can recall waiting three days for the fog on St. Paul Island to clear enough for a landing, and then was stuck there for a week by a storm.) I don't think Horizon has done the same with its DH8 fleet; on their shuttle down to PDX in the winter, it's not uncommon to orbit Mt. St. Helens for an hour while waiting for the fog to lift.