LarryJ

Every airplane has weight limits. The max takeoff weight can be limited by the max structural weight , takeoff climb limit weight, takeoff runway limit weight, takeoff obstacle limit weight, brake energy limit, tire speed limit, max landing weight limit (structural or performance), terrain clearance/driftdown weight limits, or enroute fuel limit weights. It's all calculated prior to each takeoff and whichever limit is more restricting would be their max takeoff weight limit.

JFK-OAK is pushing the range of the A320. With strong headwinds, you aren't going to be able to take a full load.

It's all average weights. The 190/195 already mentioned is very common. There are several categories of checked bags, i.e. a suitcase is one weight, a duffel bag is a heavier weight, etc. Cargo is weighed and the actual weight is used.

caphis

No; they are standby until the flight departs, regardless of whether they are given a seat.

They know that. Non-rev standbys are well aware of the policy, and revenue standbys are to be briefed on it when the standby process is explained.

medic-again

I have this happen on WN flights in the summertime out of AZ. Not as much lift at the hotter part of the day so they sometimes ask for volunteers. Strangely, last time I did this about two years ago, they offloaded 5 of us, but not our bags as far as I could tell. Mine was waiting for me when I got to Norfolk before my the bags for my new flight had started to arrive at baggage claim.

jeeden

If I recall, Arizona also limits take-off power settings because of noise issues for all the people who didn't notice they parked their houses at the end of a runway.

LarryJ

There is no such limit at PHX.

rightseat

JFK-OAK sees a decent amount of mail/cargo. Mail/cargo takes priority over standby.

I have actually been pulled off an LGB-JFK flight for cargo weight. My girlfriend and I plus about 7 other standby folks were removed because of a mis-communication between the cockpit/ground crews (what was on the load plan wasnt what was actually loaded). Most pilots will try to make things work and un-officially will try to take standby over cargo, but when it's in the stations hands (when pilots say no more cargo, the first question asked is who is standby) the standbys will come off and cargo will fly.

If you are on a light flight, sometimes we need to bring bassengers to the front due to the EML seats. In the beginning these seats were selling less than normal tickets and the ground crews had a hard time balancing the airplane without the normal amount of pax in front. It's really dissappeared lately but the company can't make up their mind about how they want the ground ops people to load things. I really can't blame them.

LarryJ

The DOT's denied boarding compensation rules do not apply in cases where an airplane must depart with empty seats due to weight and balance issues. I'm not sure if Jetblue's policy has a similar exclusion.

djk7

I'm pretty sure that was true under the old rules. Here is a snippet from the new rule enacted last April (linked above) where it says the W/B exception is now only for planes seating 60 or fewer.

dliesse

This is the crux of the problem. On the one hand, I could say far too many airlines are using airplanes on routes for which they weren't designed. On the other hand, I could point out that a smaller-capacity, truly transcontinental airplane isn't being built right now by any of the major manufacturers. The 767 is too big for most uses, and the 757 is out of production. But the 737 and Airbus series -- even the -900 and 321 -- don't really have a reliable transcontinental range.

IADOrange

The 737-900ER has the range, as does (I believe) the A319.

jetBlue

The A319 is also WAY down on capacity when compared to a 752 or 739. The A321 which is the only true airbi with a compatible pax load was having a lot of issues when doing transcons for US, most needed tech stops along the way in the winter. Although this said the newer models seem to be better.