Air Canada announces: "We're avoiding that area" (Ukraine)
Jul 21, 2014, 12:21 pm
#16
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 812
Headwind or tailwind or component wind.
Few flights operate in still air.
To get around the jet stream I have gone out of Frankfurt North and a little East up over central Norway rather than the great circle route over Amsterdam and then across the central United Kingdom. Many hundreds of miles out of the way to avoid headwinds.
If by avoiding headwinds the flight is shorter in time than going straight into the headwind then it is less fuel burn because it is less time even though the distance is more..
Few flights operate in still air.
To get around the jet stream I have gone out of Frankfurt North and a little East up over central Norway rather than the great circle route over Amsterdam and then across the central United Kingdom. Many hundreds of miles out of the way to avoid headwinds.
If by avoiding headwinds the flight is shorter in time than going straight into the headwind then it is less fuel burn because it is less time even though the distance is more..
Jul 21, 2014, 2:13 pm
#17
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SEMM; AA,DL, Hyatt and Starwood. Ex-status:SQ PPS,CSA,Hilton,AA,UA
Posts: 743
Notwithstanding the fact that eastern Ukraine is indeed not directly en route to anywhere Air Canada flies, for instance AC810 dep 17 July and AC811 dep 18 July (i.e. actually on the same day) touched a corner of west Ukrainian airspace according to Flightaware. So it is not perhaps that farfetched to assume that indeed someone somewhere at Air Canada has indeed proactively posed the question of "how far / under what conditions are we willing to fly over Ukraine and how do we monitor this situation?".
Edited to add: as did AC85 on 8 and 9 July (the last one might have just missed the border).
Edited to add: as did AC85 on 8 and 9 July (the last one might have just missed the border).
Last edited by montrealer; Jul 21, 2014 at 2:19 pm Reason: Add
Jul 21, 2014, 4:21 pm
#18
Formerly known as newbie elite
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: YUL
Programs: IHG Diamond Ambassador, Accor Platinum, AC50K
Posts: 2,927
I want to clarify that even though I reacted negatively to the statement, I completely trust AC to have made those decisions beforehand, I rank them very highly in the safety category FWIW.
Jul 21, 2014, 4:49 pm
#19
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,130
Good thing LH has begun avoiding it too, since they had no qualms about flying connecting AC pax through eastern ukraine until the tragic events that unfolded recently. AC may not put its metal at risk, but it doesn't appear to be averse to putting pax in harms way if there's money to be made.