Originally Posted by DanJ
But, the head winds will take their toll on the 737 as well. Westjet flies a 3500-mile range 737-800 from Vancouver to Hawaii (2700 miles) and has had to make the odd fuel stop in San Francisco on the westbound leg.
When I read this at first, I didn't get it -- SFO isn't really on the way from YVR to HNL. Then I figured it out: there's nowhere else to stop along the way, so you'd better take that detour to SFO and gas up to get a short enough route overwater!
I know it's all taken into account by the airlines and that the fuel calculations have to be correct for any aircraft, but it is a little disconcerting that they're flying a plane on a route where it can't always make it all the way to dry land. I guess the weather forecasts are accurate enough that they don't have a problem with this happening unexpectedly along the way. I wish our regular weather forecasts were that good!
