lastere

if the general public knew how many near misses happen every day, there will be long queues of rafts on all oceans. btw, minimum thrust doesn't mean not safe. it's still within bounds of regulations. not even cheap american airlines skimp on takeoffs, the most dangerous part of a flight. it's just not good business.

http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...317/index.html

FrankB

What for h... you guys are complaining about? Emirates is probably one of the most reliable airline in the world and maybe one of the last airline who is able to pay all the maintenance costs as per the inspection requirements.

Obviously we do have some guys around here who have deep understanding of flying a people carrier. Ask them for some deeper insides and let them tell you some of the secrets of a pilot's day-to-day business. If you are already scared by a 'common' issue (believe me, pilots have been trained on hundreds of issues before they get on their first 'public' flight) and I can assure you, you guys will never fly again.

Look at the web and search for crashes or significant incidents ... you won't find Emirates.
I flew with them probably 100 times already and yes, there were some issues in some instances but I never, never felt uncomforable or unsecure at all because they came accross very competent and professional.

So, be happy about the significant low rates they are offering at the moment or keep quiet and take the car ..

Frank

Bernieboy

Been there seen it mate

Centurion

I agree. We could just pick on one airline a week if it would make people feel better and realise that all airlines have difficulties in one way or another.

Singapore Air ? 2 Fatal incidents. Qantas - perfect safety record since they don't count sudden drops out of the sky and holes blown apart in planes. Maybe Malaysian ? Fined for not carrying sufficient fuel. Surely British Airways is boring but safe ? Sorry no, most recently a plane actually landed 1000 feet short at LHR and tore off its land gears.

Bottom line is that you remain safer in the air than you do your own car.

Wol

Exactly.

It makes me die (wrong word - make that "laugh" <g>) when people rate airlines by how fluffy their pillows are or how many olives they put in the martinis, and then inhabit threads about air safety.

We all take it almost for granted that we'll get where we want to in one piece, regardless of which carrier we choose or what fare we pay. That's as it should be, and the risk of ending up as a smoking hole in the ground is almost immeasurable.

That doesn't mean that we should ignore the billions that have been spent - mainly by the old-established carriers and sometimes after learning the hard way, historically - getting air safety to where it is now. The worry is that with low-cost airlines offering fares that hardly meet the fuel cost, this spending on safety is taking a back seat.

Amazulu

Not quite correct:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/339810.stm

I'm sure they don't do this anymore but not squeaky clean.

bcworld

Oh well....it's defintely going to have to be the trans-con bus trip then.

Wol

I think you might be quite surprised at what all airlines use as fuel reserves.

You have to burn extra fuel to carry extra fuel: the rule-of-thumb is 4% per hour: if you load an extra tonne for a twelve hour flight (say SIN - LHR) you will only have around half of it left at the end of the flight - 48% of it would have been used just carrying the extra weight.

So all airlines have cut down on excess fuel carriage since the price of oil rocketted. But as the article says, you don't know the day before, when the fuel load is calculated, whether you will actually have to use any "excess". Hindsight is a wonderful thing - pity you cannot buy it <g>.

Tom Sawyer

I'd virtually guarantee that they do not use full power for take off as well, unless required. The same goes for Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Malaysian, BA, Virgin Atlantic, Etihad, Emirates and anyone else. It is a Standard Operating Procedure.
Lets put it this way....if you were driving and came upon a hill, would you floor the accelertor to get up it? No. You'd use the correct amount of throttle to get you up the hill and no more. Same principle.
Aircraft operation and engineering is heavily regulated. We work to strict guidelines and parameters. We can fly the aircraft with a fair amount of stuff not working, individual brakes, thrust reversers, certain flight controls, generators, hydraulic pumps, but all within certain legal guidelines in a document called the Minimum Equipment List. Every aircraft you will have flown on will be carrying defects. I certify aircraft for flight every day and deal with these kind of situations, and follow all the guidelines and documents. I am legally bound by an act of Parliament (The Air Navigation Order) to ensure it is safe for flight. If the aircraft is not safe to fly I ground it until we have resolved the problem. I've even dispatched an aircraft with one engine not working (non passenger flight!).
All that said, mistakes do happen. The same as driving really, but I bet you will still get in your car in the morning and drive it without a thought.