flyingstudent

Talk about having bad days at work! It's hard to beat what you and your colleagues went through.

Just a question. All these irregular ops really add to the cost of operating an airline. I'd imagine an extra stopover/significant delay would probably eat up the entire revenue of that particular flight. How badly was your former employer doing in those months of operations?

Dandel

Wonderful en engrossing read!

I have the same questions as "flyingstudent" above... The irregular op's during those few weeks must have destroyed quite a bit of revenue?

T8191

Quite amazing!! I shall read that at least three more times to make sure I missed nothing.

All the very best of luck for your future. ^

malkie

An amazing read - thanks for sharing I guess I take a lot for granted when I travel!

Mackieman

That was a great read, and I can see why you got out of the game for a while. Good on ya. ^

TREKSTER1006

Mate, Im going to make you get me a good few pints when you come to the UK next after making me read all of that (been too long)

What a fantastic insight into your job that was!!!!

cockpitvisit

A breathtaking report filled with rare and interesting details, thanks for writing it!!! It's always nice to read a report from behind the scenes.

Sorry to read about you having left the job, but I personally envy your perseverance!

Good luck with your knee and teeth, and just don't forget to include replacement teeth into the contract when you take up the next job - you never know

MatthewClement

An engrossing read. Thanks very much for sharing it with us, and good luck in whatever you decide to do next.

jaguarpig

Absolutely stunning read, all the best with your future^

B747-437B

Thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their day to read through this. It seems that I may be indirectly responsible for many hours of lost productivity throughout the English speaking world.

Special thanks to those of you who have gone out of your way to provide feedback either on this thread, via PM, email, IM or Facebook. I have been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reception this has received, especially since I was conflicted up until the moment of actually posting as to whether its sheer length would be a deterrent to most readers. Some of the commentary has been especially flattering and has reinforced my already over-inflated ego.

It was a good story that deserved to be told and I'm just glad that I was able to put together the words that do it justice.

Moomba

And congrats on reaching the 10000 milestone on FT too

B747-437B

Delays and diversions are not as expensive as people might think, especially when compared to the overall cost of operations. In our case, over 45% of our DOCs (Direct Operating Costs) came from fuel costs. These are disproportionately high in Africa (costs were between 45% and 125% more than purchasing the same fuel in Europe) and are actually down from the 2008 peak at almost 60% of DOCs. Our airport costs (landing, handling, etc..) in comparison were barely 9% of DOC and inflight costs (crew, catering, etc..) were about 10% of DOC. Aircraft lease costs were around 18%, maintenance costs around 12%, insurance around 2% and the rest (< 2%)was budgeted contingencies that include delay costs, mishandled baggage costs, etc... The knock-on effect of delays however can't be easily quantified as passenger profiles can vary significantly by season and route. A flight with lots of business connections that delays can be a lot more expensive than a vacation flight with lots of kids.

The diversion to Luton described in this report cost us less than $10,000 extra all-in, including the extra fuel burned and passenger accomodation (meals/hotels). Compare that to the $15,000 that you can spend de-icing a single aircraft on a particularly heavy snow day. Ghardaia on the other hand cost well in excess of $100,000 once all the dust was settled.

GregWTravels

Fantastic report! Very interesting to read about travel from the other side of the fence. Thanks for sharing, and hopefully you've caught up on your sleep now.

27R

Just a stunning read about both the mechanics of running an airline and the personal fortitude you displayed. I wish you the very best of luck in whatever you turn to next.

mad_atta

Wow! An amazing story, brilliantly told. Thanks for the entertainment!