American Airlines

[Ray Finkle]

I think my last trip on a 757 was in 2005 on Thomas Cook to Rhodes. Agree it's been a fantastic aircraft that will be hard to replace. The article posted by Bhx_fifteen makes for some interesting reading.

Hopefully over the next few years BHX can firmly establish itself in the US market and prove that a 787/A330 can be viable when the 757's do eventually go. The future of United has already been bought up in the consultative committee, Mr Kehoe just said they'll either upgrade or pull out and no decision has been made yet.

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray, what's kehoe up to now, giving united orders, either upgrade or go, you don't give airlines ultimatums like that, he should leave alone to decide what they are going to do or they will pull out altogether... Andyc

 

[justplanecrazy]

I think you have took PK the wrong way I don't think he was given them an ultimatum he was just stating a fact that they will either upgrade or pull out.

 

[Brum X]

Does anybody know what the technical issue was on the first flight back to JFK, it was abit unusual if you dont mind me saying ????

And does anybody know if the American check in is next to the United Check in ??????

 

[Ray Finkle]

Sorry about the confusion, it's just as justplanecrazy has said.

Chelmsley Wood Town Council (Cllr E Tomkins) – asked if there was any risk of losing the
(United Airlines) Newark route. The Airport Company (Paul Kehoe) informed the Committee
that the viability of the route was basic customer demand and it would be good news for
Birmingham if passengers kept filling up flights. However, a key consideration was aircraft
choice – people preferred wide bodied aircraft and those flew from the London airports.
Boeing 757’s flew from Birmingham and those were coming towards the end of their
operational life so it was uncertain at this point in time what United Airlines would do. The
Committee was advised that the operator would either invest in new aircraft and continue
flying from Birmingham or stop that particular service as the two likely scenarios.

Does anybody know what the technical issue was on the first flight back to JFK, it was abit unusual if you dont mind me saying ????

On the radio he said there would be a few minutes delay, ATC said if it was going to be significant he could taxi down the runway to bravo and loop round to let the aircraft behind depart, so he did. One chap I overheard said it was an engine shut down and restart, I can't say if he was right or wrong.

And does anybody know if the American check in is next to the United Check in ??????

United usually check in at the end of the Star Alliance check in area, I think their desks are numbered in the 50's. When I walked through Friday morning American were checking in next to the Monarch desks but I'm not sure if this is a permanent arrangement.

Maybe if we ever get a couple more Oneworld airlines we could have a dedicated Oneworld check in area too :s_yes

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi ray and everyone, regarding United Airlines situation and American Airlines, I think that United will just keep and open eye and monitor American Airlines between now and at the end of this current season before making any decisions about further expansion at Birmingham, so I think we will haven't wait and see what they do...Andyc

 

[DaveBham]

I flew last year on an American 757 internal flight from LAX-BOS and it was very comfortable, although I believe their international configuration might be slightly different.

 

[jfy1999]

The website Anna.aero has a weekly competition for Best Cake and Best Fire Tender Water Arch Salute on all the new routes that start that week. BHX won Cake of the Week with the Icelandair service but it has never won Water Arch of the week and I think that both our cake and our water cannon salute are good enough to win this week...
Regarding the 757, what is it that determines an aircraft's operational life? Engines? Electronics? Metal fatigue??

 

[Ray Finkle]

"Aircraft lifespan is established by the manufacturer," explains the Federal Aviation Administration's John Petrakis, "and is usually based on takeoff and landing cycles. The fuselage is most susceptible to fatigue, but the wings are too, especially on short hauls where an aircraft goes through pressurization cycles every day."

It's an interesting read: http://www.airspacemag.com/need-to-know ... 65/?no-ist

I guess economics come into play at some point. Even with top notch maintenance the aircraft will eventually become too expensive to operate, especially with the next generation coming through at the moment.

 

[Ray Finkle]

The 'official' BHX video of launch day.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zke9K6b6Ip4[/video]

 

[Brum X]

I love these "airline" launch videos, hopefully the next one will be very soon.


Thanks for sharing :hatsoff:

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi ray and everyone, now that American Airlines are now back at Birmingham for the time being, apart from Norweign Airshuttle, Emirates and Turkish Airlines that are the main carriers at present at Birmingham, and with Heathrow almost full at 99.5 per cent full, shouldn't this now be the time that Kehoe and his team should be. trying there level best to try and persuade other larger carriers to fly from Birmingham and not at Heathrow, otherwise Birmingham is going to be reling on these existing airlines to start new unserved routes that Birmingham is missing out on big time, also if the Davis commission report approves the third runway at Heathrow, this will have a huge impact on Birminghams growth potential for the future, even though it will take ten to fifteen years to construct it, Birmingham should act now before the commission gives there verdict and take advantage while they can and not leave too late like they have before.... Andyc

 

[jfy1999]

I agree with nearly everything you said there, and to be fair we have done a great job already with Air India, American and Icelandair. The only issue is, Heathrow is the default airport for any new flag carrier service to the UK. HS2 might help BHX a lot, but London is where airlines want to fly, even if there is no space. Paul K will have to work his socks off (and he has been doing that to get the new airlines we do have).

 

[jfy1999]

Have a look at Anna.aero's weekly route awards!! BHX's water arch not only won this week's competition, it now stands top of the entire leaderboard

 

[Ray Finkle]

Judge’s Comments: Not only is this a great water arch, one worthy of topping the 2015 ‘Arch of Triumph’ leader board, but the firefighters at Birmingham have also gained extra points for the impromptu rainbow on display. That is FTWAing at the top level. Or as they like to say round there…bostin’

Marc: 9.1; Paul: 8.9; Ralph: 8.8; Vlad: 8.5.

http://www.anna.aero/2015/05/13/budapes ... rtificate/

 

[Brum X]

LAUNCH DAY OF BIRMINGHAM-NEW YORK JFK

https://vimeo.com/127270707

 

[jfy1999]

Some water arches in the past were laughable—one of those was the Icelandair BHX service's arch which was ruined by the wind

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Or the Virgin / Delta at Manchester!!

 

[Ray Finkle]

I see I missed N174AA on Wednesday which is in the bare metal Oneworld livery, I knew it would be in whilst I was away.

It was also interesting to see that several flights were escorted into New York by military jets on Monday with one of them being our very own JFK service. Apparently it was due to a "chemical weapons threat" and the aircraft was initially due to taxi to a remote area, the threat was found out not to be credible so it went straight to the gate.

 

[Ray Finkle]

A quiet Sunday evening has had me doing a few comparisons between AA and UA.

Tomorrow's AA131 to JFK is showing totally full in economy with only four seats remaining in Main Cabin Extra. Business is showing as around 50%. The cheapest ticket is £1660.

In comparison tomorrow's UA26 to EWR is also showing totally full in economy but Economy Plus is only around 50%. Business however only has three seats remaining. The cheapest ticket is £1087.

It's only a very small snapshot and we don't know the yields for either airline but hopefully it means that United's loads haven't been too badly affected by the new service. As a new arrival AA will need to win a few more business pax over the next year or so but it's early days and at this stage it isn't too bad at all.