"There are 50 to 55 planes ahead of us to take off..."
Apr 28, 2011, 12:54 pm
#31
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Did you make it out? I saw some planes leave during that hole in the weather. It's nasty out.
Apr 28, 2011, 12:56 pm
#32
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Apr 28, 2011, 1:39 pm
#34
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I definitely think 50-55 planes taxiing for takeoff at LGA is an exaggeration. First of all, there is nowhere at LGA to put those planes. If rwy 13 is in use, per the other poster, even if you taxied down the length of 13/31 to 4/22, then left along 4/22, across 4/22 and back down 4/22 back to 13/31 you can't fit 55 planes unless they're all jungle jets 
Second, LGA has no extra taxiways and no airline is going to run an engine for 1.5+ hours of taxing and waste that fuel just to stand in line. So there's nowhere for these planes to sit and shut off their engines while they wait for takeoff.
Third, and I've seen this one before, you are told by a Captain that you're number xxx for takeoff and you're going to sit at the gate with the engines off until you get down to #8 or less and there's room on the taxiway.
Bummer that the OP taxied out and waited awhile before going back to the gate.
Just my thoughts. It doesn't make a diff whether there were really 55 planes waiting in queue or not. The NE is fubared today. I'm sitting in BOS and taking a flight to another hub after my BOS-JFK flight went delayed (which btw is now delayed 5 hours. Glad I decided to switch while I could).
-RM
Second, LGA has no extra taxiways and no airline is going to run an engine for 1.5+ hours of taxing and waste that fuel just to stand in line. So there's nowhere for these planes to sit and shut off their engines while they wait for takeoff.
Third, and I've seen this one before, you are told by a Captain that you're number xxx for takeoff and you're going to sit at the gate with the engines off until you get down to #8 or less and there's room on the taxiway.
Bummer that the OP taxied out and waited awhile before going back to the gate.
Just my thoughts. It doesn't make a diff whether there were really 55 planes waiting in queue or not. The NE is fubared today. I'm sitting in BOS and taking a flight to another hub after my BOS-JFK flight went delayed (which btw is now delayed 5 hours. Glad I decided to switch while I could).
-RM
Apr 28, 2011, 2:05 pm
#35
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The rocky takeoff put me to sleep, but we're up somewhere though. The pilot again said 2 hours from take off to touchdown, so I'm guessing we're going around the storms or something.
Apr 28, 2011, 2:24 pm
#37
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I definitely think 50-55 planes taxiing for takeoff at LGA is an exaggeration. First of all, there is nowhere at LGA to put those planes. If rwy 13 is in use, per the other poster, even if you taxied down the length of 13/31 to 4/22, then left along 4/22, across 4/22 and back down 4/22 back to 13/31 you can't fit 55 planes unless they're all jungle jets
Second, LGA has no extra taxiways and no airline is going to run an engine for 1.5+ hours of taxing and waste that fuel just to stand in line. So there's nowhere for these planes to sit and shut off their engines while they wait for takeoff.
Second, LGA has no extra taxiways and no airline is going to run an engine for 1.5+ hours of taxing and waste that fuel just to stand in line. So there's nowhere for these planes to sit and shut off their engines while they wait for takeoff.
As to my delay, it was a clear night and both 31 and 4 were being used for departures. I was parked on Y or CY (maybe even D, it was long ago) between 4/22 and AA, waiting for clearance. Not a place any scheduled jet would be waiting for takeoff ... so plenty of available space. [Also, not flying on a flight plan, I was able to scoot out of NY airspace at under 3000 feet and not mess up ATC's planning.]
Apr 29, 2011, 8:30 pm
#38
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Goodbye Columbus ...
5977 (LGA-CMH; sched departure approx 1100AM; makes up 5967 CMH-DTW) pushed back at approx 1240PM and took off shortly after 3PM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/T...510Z/KLGA/KCMH
I was waiting on that jet as the first leg of my return trip to IAD, sched to leave CMH at 133PM and leave DTW approx 520PM
the 330PM CMH-DTW was also delayed to where the connection would be marginal, so I called the Plat desk to rebook onto the 337PM nonstop CMH-DCA ... that jet arrived from DCA about 340PM; we boarded about 420 and sat while they put on some extra fuel, and then the pilots realized that the fuel panel wasn't reading properly ... they deplaned everyone (and the pink-tag bags) shortly after 5 while maintenance attempted to fix the problem
as soon as I got back into the terminal I called to get rebooked (either UA to IAD or US to DCA at 655PM), but since the system still showed me as "boarded" the Plat desk couldn't reissue the ticket
at about 545PM someone realized the crew for the DCA flight was about to time out, so they cancelled ... I immediately joined the line to talk to the GA; called the Plat desk back, but they still couldn't do anything
UA was full, and the person in front of me snagged the last seat on the US flight, so the GA put me on standby for the 703PM CMH-DTW (with DTW-DCA at 945PM confirmed in F); she also gave me a hotel voucher and a seat on the 6AM CMH-DCA
handed the GA my Seat Request card at 635PM, and in return got a BP for 1A (on a CR9)
6.5 hrs at CMH ... if I had kept my rental car instead of turning it in at 1230 I would have been home about the time my flight blocked in at DTW
I'm averaging about 85-90 flights a year for the past 7-8 years (which I know isn't a lot by FT standards; esp with only 2 TATL and 2 Hawaii trips), but this is about the worst IROPS that I have had to contend with
Apr 29, 2011, 9:02 pm
#39
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I definitely think 50-55 planes taxiing for takeoff at LGA is an exaggeration. First of all, there is nowhere at LGA to put those planes. If rwy 13 is in use, per the other poster, even if you taxied down the length of 13/31 to 4/22, then left along 4/22, across 4/22 and back down 4/22 back to 13/31 you can't fit 55 planes unless they're all jungle jets
Apr 30, 2011, 10:07 am
#40
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Hey... it was a major cluster at LGA getting in and out... the folks flying in for the Frequent Traveler Awards (yay DL got one for Best Promotion for Redemption!) were delayed but SMI was in attendance, even UA's COO's flight in was cxl, the folks from Hyatt were delayed, it was a rough day weatherwise... 55 stacked up, I could believe it...
Apr 30, 2011, 10:37 am
#41
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Hey... it was a major cluster at LGA getting in and out... the folks flying in for the Frequent Traveler Awards (yay DL got one for Best Promotion for Redemption!) were delayed but SMI was in attendance, even UA's COO's flight in was cxl, the folks from Hyatt were delayed, it was a rough day weatherwise... 55 stacked up, I could believe it...
So travel industry leadership haven't learned the principle principal of business travel... never trust the travel industry to get you to an important meeting on the day of the meeting, travel the day before.
DISCLAIMER: No, I do not want airplanes flying in unsafe conditions. Yes, the weather was extreme that day. My tongue-in-cheek commentary above was prompted by my opinion that the air travel system (which includes the airlines and FAA/ATC) has allowed a situation to develop where even much more moderate weather can put the system (especially the northeast) into chaos. And no one appears to be taking a leadership role in calling for the necessary advances in technology and the necessary changes in operations to mitigate this problem. As long as they all can shrug their collective shoulders and say "It's the weather, we can't help that" the situation will not improve. </RANT>
Last edited by StayingHomeIsBetter; Apr 30, 2011 at 10:53 am
May 7, 2011, 11:10 am
#42
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jpmardini, I don't know if you stuck with this flight or decided to ditch it, but they keep pushing back the ETD and have now posted 1445. That WX line is really crawling along on a NNE direction. In case you are wondering, the whole crew started their day with this flight so duty time is not a factor for a long while.....that doesn't mean someone down in ATL at the OCC won't cancel it, but it won't be due to crew duty time-out. FWIW, the 1100 departure got airborne after two hours out at 1309.
OK, 55 is probably a bit of a stretch, but I've certainly been in line at LGA with more than 30. The problem with LGA is that there is only one Ground frequency and at busy times it gets clobbered with congestion. Due to the fact that most aircraft push onto active taxiways and require a pushback call and when using RWY 13 everyone will have to cross 4/22, the frequency is so busy that you simply can't ask what you're sequence in line is....if you try to ask, you will be told in classic New York fashion to shut up. You rarely have any idea where you are in the line-up until you get to the #5 position or so and you're told who to follow. If you're in a nice long line on a single taxiway like many airports, you can try to count tails ahead of you and make an estimate, but at LGA when they are using RWY 13 as they are today, there are multiple departure lines on taxiways P, G, AA, BB, CC, and DD. You really have no idea where you are in that mess, you only know there are a lot of planes.
(LGA ground does have a secondary Ground freq that they will use if they have the mannning, but it doesn't help much. The freq is still too busy to be asking any questions about sequence)
OK, 55 is probably a bit of a stretch, but I've certainly been in line at LGA with more than 30. The problem with LGA is that there is only one Ground frequency and at busy times it gets clobbered with congestion. Due to the fact that most aircraft push onto active taxiways and require a pushback call and when using RWY 13 everyone will have to cross 4/22, the frequency is so busy that you simply can't ask what you're sequence in line is....if you try to ask, you will be told in classic New York fashion to shut up. You rarely have any idea where you are in the line-up until you get to the #5 position or so and you're told who to follow. If you're in a nice long line on a single taxiway like many airports, you can try to count tails ahead of you and make an estimate, but at LGA when they are using RWY 13 as they are today, there are multiple departure lines on taxiways P, G, AA, BB, CC, and DD. You really have no idea where you are in that mess, you only know there are a lot of planes.
(LGA ground does have a secondary Ground freq that they will use if they have the mannning, but it doesn't help much. The freq is still too busy to be asking any questions about sequence)