SD: "We're not taking off until 14 pax relocate to the back" of an A321!
Apr 5, 2018, 10:06 am
#31
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Like others here, I've seen this before on an AC 321, and also agree that it is very rare. But it happens.
Apr 5, 2018, 10:23 am
#33
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It’s actually the opposite when they need to move passengers to the back. The forward C of G will require a larger force applied by the tail section in order to produce a positive angle of attack ie. climb. This is obviously not ideal when you are heavy and slow ie. takeoff. Moving people to the back moves the C of G backwards and reduces the force required.
Apr 5, 2018, 10:24 am
#34
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Apr 5, 2018, 11:05 am
#35
Join Date: Jan 2009
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This happened on our CUN-YHZ flight a couple weeks ago, also on an A321. They didn't ask for volunteers, but simply told the passengers in rows 18-20 to move to the back. I guess they just needed to move the CG back for takeoff, since they were allowed to return after we reached cruise altitude.
Shorty 737s like the 735 are the opposite, where pax need to move forward. Back when CanJet was still around, I was on the first flight north out of Florida at the start of the winter season. Evidently as a result, the flight was almost empty (13 pax) and everyone needed to sit in the first 5 rows.
Apr 5, 2018, 12:20 pm
#36
Join Date: Apr 2016
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I was on a nearly empty A320 series flying YYT-YHZ. Must have been less than a dozen people, including the group of 5 physics students I was with. The FA said that she would ask the captain if we could move around but never got back to us.
This was Feb 1995. I guess that was a few years back.
This was Feb 1995. I guess that was a few years back.
Apr 7, 2018, 11:09 am
#38
Join Date: Feb 2018
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Usually the person controlling the flight will see a comment that says something like, "Need 22 pax in rows 1-14". This comment can appear anywhere from a couple of hours before departure to after boarding has commenced, (which is quite annoying!) If the flight's controller is on the ball then this is all done before boarding commences. Until all the pax/bags are accounted for, the weight and balance is a calculated guesstimate. A relatively minor imbalance can be corrected by adding ballast bags into the hold of the aircraft. The smaller the aircraft the more susceptible it is to weight and balance issues.
Apr 12, 2018, 8:15 am
#39
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Those are definitely getting increasingly rare in the age of 85% load factors. The most likely odds of an 'empty' Rapidair are the last flights of the day.
Probably the most common day for empty flights nowadays is on Christmas Day.
Probably the most common day for empty flights nowadays is on Christmas Day.
Apr 12, 2018, 10:29 am
#40
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Last year I did 100+ Rapidair flights... one example of a near empty flight was midday. But I agree that most of the time the flights are packed at any time of the day. First and last flights too.
Apr 13, 2018, 8:03 am
#41
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My next flight (YTZ - YUL) also had pax reseating for W&B before takeoff. But this was on a Q400, so more expected. We'll see if I score a hat trick and get three flights in a row when I go YUL - YVR. I've been flying AC for 30+ years and these flights were my first and second with reseating pax for W&B.