Coronavirus: Future of airlines and airports

[Peter Mugridge]

There has been talk on Twitter this morning that one Minister was saying on the radio airline passengers should check everything in to the hold instead of using hand baggage in order to reduce the delays boarding and disembarking as people mess around with the overhead lockers.

That hasn't been thought through has it?

Presumably the Minister wants the baggage handlers at both ends to now be unnecessarily touching multiple other people's possessions and then have the passengers spend ages crowding around a baggage reclaim... oh, and wasting time in the process...

 

[Bantamzen]

There has been talk on Twitter this morning that one Minister was saying on the radio airline passengers should check everything in to the hold instead of using hand baggage in order to reduce the delays boarding and disembarking as people mess around with the overhead lockers.

That hasn't been thought through has it?

Presumably the Minister wants the baggage handlers at both ends to now be unnecessarily touching multiple other people's possessions and then have the passengers spend ages crowding around a baggage reclaim... oh, and wasting time in the process...

Not to mention even more queues for bag drops, especially at the smaller airports where a lot of the budget airlines operate from. And talking of which there is the small matter of those companies business models and pricing structures.

And to be honest airlines like Ryanair, Jet2 & Easyjet are quite capable of spitting out 180+ passengers from their craft in good time albeit with narrow-bodied ones. I've generally found that it is on long-haul flights on wide-bodied craft that people seem to faff about more on disembarking, although often this seems to be simply stretching after multiple hours flight time.

 

[darloscott]

For those of you with BA status, you may have had an email from them this morning extending your Exec level for another 12 months. Great move on their part I think.

Was a lovely email to receive for sure, gives me another year! Also take note that there is 25% reduction in TPs needed to requalify also. For those of us with silver status that means only 450TP next time round!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Only 2 left at Bournemouth now, out of the 5 which have been stored there.

G-CIVW just popped up on Flight radar 24 at Bournemouth meaning it's been switched on and the transponder on, no departure time or destination shown.



Edited: It's another one off to the Cardiff maintenance base.

 

[BananaRepublic]

There has been talk on Twitter this morning that one Minister was saying on the radio airline passengers should check everything in to the hold instead of using hand baggage in order to reduce the delays boarding and disembarking as people mess around with the overhead lockers.

That hasn't been thought through has it?

Presumably the Minister wants the baggage handlers at both ends to now be unnecessarily touching multiple other people's possessions and then have the passengers spend ages crowding around a baggage reclaim... oh, and wasting time in the process...

This has been a requirement on most of the passenger flights that have continued, or been restarted in Europe.
My son flew with Eurowings 4 weeks ago, from Heathrow- Dusseldorf and then Düsseldorf- Palma the next day.
Facemasks to be worn at all times and all luggage to be checked into the hold.
One small cabin bag, such as a small rucksack, handbag or shoulder bag allowed.
No small locker sized suitcases, which had to be checked in as hold luggage.

Brother-in-law flew from Madrid to Heathrow with Iberia last week.
Same restrictions.
Facemasks and no cabin sized suitcases in the passenger cabin.


.

 

[BananaRepublic]

G-CIVW just popped up on Flight radar 24 at Bournemouth meaning it's been switched on and the transponder on, no departure time or destination shown.

Edited: It's another one off to the Cardiff maintenance base.

Just departed at around 1600 and landing at Cardiff as I type this at 1623.


BA sent their 11th A380 into storage at Chateauroux yesterday (10th June).
This aircraft had been in Manila for heavy maintenance when operations were curtailed.
It returned a week and a half ago, carried out 2 return flights to Cape Town and has now been put into storage In France.

The only BA A380 not parked at Chateaurou, had been parked at Heathrow for weeks, but was sent to Manila for maintenance, when the other was ready to come back.
The crew who took this aircraft out to Manila, brought the other aircraft home.

Therefore there are currently no BA 747’s or A380’s in service.




.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This has been a requirement on most of the passenger flights that have continued, or been restarted in Europe.
My son flew with Eurowings 4 weeks ago, from Heathrow- Dusseldorf and then Düsseldorf- Palma the next day.
Facemasks to be worn at all times and all luggage to be checked into the hold.
One small cabin bag, such as a small rucksack, handbag or shoulder bag allowed.
No small locker sized suitcases, which had to be checked in as hold luggage.

Brother-in-law flew from Madrid to Heathrow with Iberia last week.
Same restrictions.
Facemasks and no cabin sized suitcases in the passenger cabin.

Ah... so a shoulder bag would still be OK in the cabin, then? That's OK then... not that I can go anywhere at the moment anyway...

 

[squizzler]

Presumably the Minister wants the baggage handlers at both ends to now be unnecessarily touching multiple other people's possessions and then have the passengers spend ages crowding around a baggage reclaim... oh, and wasting time in the process...

With two weeks quarantine to kill, wasting time will presumably be low down the list of priorities.

 

[Jamesrob637]

BA have only operated a single 747 (G-CIVO) since the start of April, but only for a dozen flights to Lagos, Abuja and Cape Town.
It was moved to Cardiff a week ago and replaced by one of those that had been stored at Bournemouth (G-CIVP), which has only carried out a couple of flights to Cape Town so far.
Only 2 left at Bournemouth now, out of the 5 which have been stored there.
2 of those have moved to Cardiff and the other is now at Heathrow as I’ve mentioned.
The 5 BA 747’s parked at the airliner graveyard at Teruel in Spain will probably not return to service.


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The Cardiff ones may go to St Athan which I believe is only 3 minutes' flying time, nearly as short as that world-famous flight in the Orkneys!

 

[Ted633]

G-BNLY (Landor livery) is also due to move from Bournemouth to Cardiff in the next few days (Did have the exact date & time, can't remember now!)

 

[Jamesrob637]

G-BNLY (Landor livery) is also due to move from Bournemouth to Cardiff in the next few days (Did have the exact date & time, can't remember now!)

Following the new rules, I as a single occupant am going to stay with my mum who's a single occupant also, next week. She's not a million miles from Bournemouth. Kindly inform us when you have more info. Landor is simply an unbeatable livery. I know it's only a derivative of Negus but Landor is from my childhood (and any BA machines I flew in the 90s would have been in Landor)

 

[Ted633]

Following the new rules, I as a single occupant am going to stay with my mum who's a single occupant also, next week. She's not a million miles from Bournemouth. Kindly inform us when you have more info. Landor is simply an unbeatable livery. I know it's only a derivative of Negus but Landor is from my childhood (and any BA machines I flew in the 90s would have been in Landor)

Very sorry, but I'm off shift now so can't access the systems at work (I work for BA, for the time being anyway...) Just wish my memory was about better and I could remember!

 

[nlogax]

Following the new rules, I as a single occupant am going to stay with my mum who's a single occupant also, next week. She's not a million miles from Bournemouth. Kindly inform us when you have more info. Landor is simply an unbeatable livery. I know it's only a derivative of Negus but Landor is from my childhood (and any BA machines I flew in the 90s would have been in Landor)

Looks like you may be out of luck, G-BNLY is due to leave Bournemouth for Cardiff early afternoon tomorrow (Monday).

 

[Jamesrob637]

Looks like you may be out of luck, G-BNLY is due to leave Bournemouth for Cardiff early afternoon tomorrow (Monday).

Ah thanks. Looks like an afternoon or day at LHR then when things have picked up.

 

[DimTim]

A few simple questions about all these stored planes

A) from my recollection of flying the aircraft doors always appear to be locked from inside the plane. How are doors locked as the crew leave?
B) again if the door is locked ‘in storage‘ how do the new crew access? T key etc?
C) I need a key to start my car - is anything similar needed to start up a stored plane? Is it merely a case of switching a master switch to get the power on & accessing the computer system with a code?

 

[Jayden99]

A few simple questions about all these stored planes

A) from my recollection of flying the aircraft doors always appear to be locked from inside the plane. How are doors locked as the crew leave?
B) again if the door is locked ‘in storage‘ how do the new crew access? T key etc?
C) I need a key to start my car - is anything similar needed to start up a stored plane? Is it merely a case of switching a master switch to get the power on & accessing the computer system with a code?

As former crew, to answer A and B in day to day operations you don't. At least on the Baby Bus, anyone can open a door from the outside with no key, and they would sit that way overnight at base etc

 

[Bald Rick]

A few simple questions about all these stored planes

A) from my recollection of flying the aircraft doors always appear to be locked from inside the plane. How are doors locked as the crew leave?
B) again if the door is locked ‘in storage‘ how do the new crew access? T key etc?
C) I need a key to start my car - is anything similar needed to start up a stored plane? Is it merely a case of switching a master switch to get the power on & accessing the computer system with a code?

What you see being done from the inside is the door being locked for pressurisation, not closed.

 

[Ted633]

A few simple questions about all these stored planes

A) from my recollection of flying the aircraft doors always appear to be locked from inside the plane. How are doors locked as the crew leave?
B) again if the door is locked ‘in storage‘ how do the new crew access? T key etc?
C) I need a key to start my car - is anything similar needed to start up a stored plane? Is it merely a case of switching a master switch to get the power on & accessing the computer system with a code?

Part C
Nope, no key or anything. Just need to reverse anything that was done for storage (covers off, batteries reconnected etc) and you're ready to power up. No computer code or anything like that. If you know how to power up an aircraft, you'll be able to.

 

[MCSHF007]

Part C
Nope, no key or anything. Just need to reverse anything that was done for storage (covers off, batteries reconnected etc) and you're ready to power up. No computer code or anything like that. If you know how to power up an aircraft, you'll be able to.

Am I alone in finding that at least a little worrying? Any disaffected/disturbed (maybe as a result of employment disputes, mental health issues or 'outdated religious dogma') individual with the relevant knowledge could ...

 

[PG]

Am I alone in finding that at least a little worrying? Any disaffected/disturbed (maybe as a result of employment disputes, mental health issues or 'outdated religious dogma') individual with the relevant knowledge could ...

I've no knowledge but I suspect in the event of an individual attempting to 'make off' with a commercial aircraft a call to the authorities would result in the swift deployment of HM armed forces!

 

[ModernRailways]

Am I alone in finding that at least a little worrying? Any disaffected/disturbed (maybe as a result of employment disputes, mental health issues or 'outdated religious dogma') individual with the relevant knowledge could ...

Pretty much all buses are the same, nothing required other put it in drive. Very few buses are stolen, a plane is significantly harder to start up and manoeuvre, plus if you did get it moving they'd likely see the plane moving on radar and the relevant authorities would definitely stop much more.

 

[PG]

Pretty much all buses are the same, nothing required other put it in drive. Very few buses are stolen, a plane is significantly harder to start up and manoeuvre, plus if you did get it moving they'd likely see the plane moving on radar and the relevant authorities would definitely stop much more.

Plus I think @MCSHF007 was talking about aircraft in storage which are currently temporarily out of use. As @Ted633 mentioned that may well have involved battery disconnection. Stolen buses are usually just parked between duties or overnight so their batteries will still be connected, yet as you say remarkably few incidents occur with them even though they are in much more accessible locations than stored aircraft.

 

[edwin_m]

Airliners are often parked nose-up to something so need a tractor to move them to a position where they can continue under their own power. Not to mention needing to find and position some steps to be able to get inside. So gaining access and control will take some time and involve several people, and I'd like to think anywhere airliners are parked in potentially workable condition also has good security.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Lufthansa has had great trouble getting its €9 billion bail-out package agreed by all the stakeholders, which include the DE, AT, BE and CH governments.
The major obstacle seems to be its biggest single shareholder (15%), Heinz Hermann Thiele, who opposes government intervention and the impact on his investment.
It turns out billionaire Thiele is chairman of both Vossloh and Knorr-Bremse, and is their majority shareholder too.
The alternative to the bail out appears to be divestment and down-sizing of Lufthansa, and the final shoot-out is this week.

It's what happens when you privatise a strategic asset and then pretend it is still in state ownership.
LH's ownership of OS, SN and LX further complicates matters in the single market, as each government wants its own level of protection for its "flag carrier".
But it's interesting that a railway tycoon has such influence in the aviation sphere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Hermann_Thiele

There are parallels here with the status of British Airways within IAG, and Virgin Atlantic with its 49% Delta ownership.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Emirates has announced the restoration of A380 services from Dubai, at least to London and Paris, on 15th July.

 

[FQTV]

The Italian government has announced a series of changes to legislation affecting both domestic and international air travel.

The 1m on board separation rule is being withdrawn for aircraft fitted with HEPA filters in their ventilation systems, but in a clarification to an earlier announcement, the use of overhead bins are apparently banned from June 26th 2020.

Passengers will be able to carry on only a small personal item, for example a laptop bag, briefcase, handbag or small other piece of luggage, which must fit under the seat in front.

Practically-speaking, there are a number of operational issues with this ruling, including the use of emergency exit, bulhead and some Business & First Class seats, where floor stowage us also banned or unavailable.

This is obviosuly apart from the further consequences of additional queuing at check-in desks and baggage carousels etc., which the likes of Michael O'Leary have pointed out.

According to my understanding of the ruling, the airlines will not be able to charge for hand luggage in the hold, which I can see being another bit of an operational flashpoint.

In Italian, from il Corriere della Sera:

Aerei, da domani scatta il divieto di portare a bordo i trolley

L’annuncio dell’Enac per «motivi sanitari». Il divieto riguarda tutte le compagnie che operano in Italia. Vietato l’uso delle cappelliere: sarà possibile portare a bordo solo piccole borse da mettere nello spazio sotto i sedili

www.corriere.it

L’Italia vieta ufficialmente il bagaglio a mano a bordo degli aerei. Lo apprende il Corriere della Sera da fonti internazionali: la misura - destinata ad avere un impatto logistico sulle operazioni delle compagnie - rientra nell’ambito delle misure di contenimento del coronavirus. Da venerdì 26 giugno su tutti i voli nazionali e internazionali (in arrivo o in partenza dal nostro Paese) non sarà più consentito l’imbarco con trolley o borsoni, ma soltanto con qualche piccolo effetto personale come le borse o gli zaini che potranno essere depositati nello spazio sotto al sedile di fronte.

 

[Jamiescott1]

I've booked a flight for next Monday with wizz air from luton and they're still selling cabin baggage options

 

[Bletchleyite]

That seems a bizarre policy. Surely hold luggage is handled by far more people - if anything it should be hand luggage only!

 

[The Ham]

That seems a bizarre policy. Surely hold luggage is handled by far more people - if anything it should be hand luggage only!

The only thing I can think of is that the overhead lockers are then high touch points, whilst staff handling bags can do with gloves, which would reduce the risk of passing it about.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The only thing I can think of is that the overhead lockers are then high touch points, whilst staff handling bags can do with gloves, which would reduce the risk of passing it about.

Oh, no, the glove misunderstanding again.

Unless they handle EACH bag with a new pair of gloves, that is untrue.