Waterhorse

Normally down to airport operator and the stand, but a pilot can request assistance. I used to fly to Ascension Island where there is one ramp and we always parked in the same place. On the, very, odd occasion if there were two aircraft in that day, we would park next door. You could not get lost on the ramp at all, but the airfield operator ( USAF) insisted we had a follow me all the time, just in case we got lost. Odd but it�s their rules and their airfield.

Some stands have clever guidance that allow the aircraft to be parked without assistance, some do not, where there is no guidance a marshalled will be required, they often do a double duty as follow me drivers, so you quite often get a follow me car if you need a marshaller.

c1223

I was on an A321 the other day where the PTU seemed to make a lot of noise (i.e. the "dogs barking") for about 2 minutes after the gear was bought up. Is that normal? I've only ever heard it when the engines have been turned off on the ground.

Waterhorse

The PTU runs when there is a pressure differential between the Green and Yellow System Hydraulics. It runs automatically and provides pressure support when the system is being used by its main heavy users such as the gear and flaps etc. You hear it on the ground because it is quieter, if you were in a NEO they are quieter and it may have been just that.

onaswan

Is there a rationale behind sending passengers out to the B and C gates (I'm talking T5 here) only to put them on busses. It happened twice recently - this week for the SFO flight for instance. On that occasion there were free slots on the terminal building. The only reason I can fathom is a need to disperse pax from the A terminal AND the aircraft, for one reason or another, is parked at a remote stand.

onaswan

Love the description of the 'dog barking'. Yes, it has become a bit of a family joke now, when we hear that, while waiting to disemBARK (sorry). We look at each other and mime the 'Dog' in time with the noise .

Simonp27

Happened to me Wednesday LHR to BOS - called to B36 - I was actually relieved no bus, until I got to the gate!! It was a short bus trip to be fair.

onaswan

This was a problem I faced, for my children, when not travelling with me or my wife. They were flying in CE, but not allowed lounge access. I posted on here (much as nuffnuff77 suggested) a request for an adult to accompany them in. The response I got went into legalities etc. Annoying but justifiable, I suppose. The annoyance was that they were seasoned 'front end' flyers (like you) who, I knew, could be trusted in the lounge. The upshot was that, with a bit of discussion and persuasion, they were escorted in by a member of the lounge staff, picked up a can of drink and bag of crisps, then sent back outside o consume them there (let's not worry about that breaking one of the lounge's rules!)

onaswan

The SFO flight (Monday this week) that I quoted originally went from C !

corporate-wage-slave

I am not BA staff. I agree it's the worst of all worlds, it doesn't happen that often, there are 2 reasons for this. The main reason is that the main secondary security team and DHS representative will based in B for the USA destinations; but it also happens when A10 gets overloaded - not so much with passengers (though they will probably feel it is), but the bus access, drive-through and pick-up points are restricted - so at a certain point the whole operation can gum up. SFO has 2 flights (usually), one before the peak, and one after the peak. If the peak has been difficult then I can see why 287 ends up at B or C as a bus pick-up.

Confus

Bus departures from the satellites are nearly always because the additional security staff required for US departures are based over there, and it’s a major faff (not to mention inefficiency) to move them and their equipment over to A10. A minor annoyance for passengers is better than a delay that could become a major problem.

G-BUSI

I�m really intrigued by this and hope someone can explain. For clarity not a BA flight involved.

A 737-800 today from EDI to LPA (LS715) took off and flew the whole journey at 25,000 feet refuelling at FAO

The delayed return (LS716) is currently airborne and flying back at 24,000. Unsure if it plans to refuel on way back.

What could be the reasons for this to happen? It is obviously perfectly safe or the flight would not be operating, I�m just intrigued and did not know where else to ask so hope some of our friendly staffers can explain.

Thanks

Sigwx

Sounds like it dispatched with a single air conditioning pack U/S which limits 737s to FL250.

george77300

Due to the French ATC strike there have been severe capacity issues at the main busy flight levels. Going below (in the usually less busy levels) may have facilitated a better routing to avoid either a long delay waiting on an ATC slot or a longer routing around France to avoid the French airspace. For example yesterday below FL295 outbound and FL265 on the way back were far less restrictive than above that. Reduced the slots from 2-4 hours to about 20 mins for us. This is one potential reason.

There maybe another reason specific to the 737, some technical issues have a maximum altitude. I�m unsure of 737 specifics tho.

Edit: @Sigwx has provided more 737 specific technical defect which is very probable. Out of pure curiosity the A320 limit with one pack is 31,500ft.

G-BUSI

Thank you both. I think @Sigwx has given the most probable explanation. Looks like all other traffic in the area are at a more usual altitude.

G-BUSI

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