Pakistan International Airlines

[lbaspotter]

Oh dear It looks like there were some serious problems with the latest PIA service from Islamabad that diverted into Manchester on Saturday night due to the strong cross winds as news reports have started to appear in the local rag in Bradford. In my book at least the Capitan did decide to return his aircraft back to Leeds/Bradford with his passengers onboard! I suppose you can't please everyone now-a-days?

Source: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co....A_flight_is_diverted_to_Manchester/?ref=var_0

 

[White Heather]

If PIA were not granted permission to disembark their passengers and had already used up the food supplies on board, I don't see what they could do really, other than send out for a takeaway! It seems to be another classic case of poor communications, with people leaving LBA to go to MAN, only to find that they should have gone home and then gone back to LBA later. My philosophy is that if the flight is diverted, wait at the original airport, as the airline is responsible for getting passengers back there. As we saw in this case, there is no guarantee that if a flight diverts, it won't come back later still with the passengers on board.

 

[752]

I must say PIA have definitely improved their arriving and departing times

 

[ls27]

today's flight has diverted and is descending to 120 over Watford- Heathrow? at 1822

 

[48vanman]

Anybody know why todays flight is cancelled?

 

[lbaspotter]

Anybody know why todays flight is cancelled?

Yep its due to PIA having a shortage of Airbus A310 aircraft. AP-BEQ which is one of the General Electric powered aircraft used for some European flights has been grounded in Kuala Lumpur due to a engine vibration which was observed by crew on take-off a few days ago. I understand it eventually returned and landed in Kuala Lumpur safely.

 

[yorkie40]

How about a b777 instead!! :whiteflag:

 

[Moo2009]

More chance of seeing pigs fly than a 777

 

[lbaspotter]

Well strangely enough London Heathrow and Birmingham are going to see PIA's Airbus A310 aircraft operating flights from Islamabad over the next few days replacing Boeing 777's due to the aircraft shortages.

 

[a300boy]

If we get a runway upgrade we might bag a B777 but as there are no plans or intentions to do so you can forget large aircraft movement unless they are empty, football charters, with light fuel loads, or operating via somewhere else outbound. The economic situation of the airport business is delicate and the site Lbia is built on gives little scope for development so we have what we have probably for the near future at least.

 

[yorkie40]

Why would we need a runway upgrade? Didn't b747s and such like used to use lba for flights to canada

 

[ls27]

Yes they did, but all went outbound via Birmingham. There wa sjust one flight that went direct to Canada and that was a DC10.

 

[eastcoaster]

Yes they did, but all went outbound via Birmingham. There wa sjust one flight that went direct to Canada and that was a DC10.

There were 2 direct 747s to Toronto. The first one on the day of the runway epening, the second was a diversion from Newcastle, when their runway was blocked.
The DC 10 just replaced a 747 and operated via Birmingham on the very last service to Toronto. It did land on runway 14 while the 747 never did.

 

[Aviador]

I can second that.

In one of the old Leeds Bradford Airport Official Handbook it states "the first 747 operated with a full load of passengers and freight to Toronto". The key point to note is it didn't require a full load of fuel to make the journey.

It is clear the runway is long enough for certain long haul flights but with reduced operating margins airlines will be reluctant to operate from LBA.

 

[michael]

I know it's going slightly off topic now but it's a shame LBA can't attract a long haul airline that operates a flight along the lines of Singapore airlines' morning flight from Manchester that operates via Munich - which I presume is a hub for Singapore?

 

[lbaspotter]

I sure I've read elsewhere that the Leeds to Birmingham flight operated by Wardair was the shortest flight in the world to be operated by a Boeing 747 at the time?

But don't forget yes Jet2 have been sending Boeing 757-200's direct to New York. Thomson have sometimes managed use there Boeing 767's to Bridgetown along with a Thomas Cook Airbus A330. Also if I remember correctly Swe-fly actually started using there Boeing 762 direct to Lahore without the tech stop in Stockholm before it went bust!

Last but not least Shaheen and PIA have for the last 6 year's operated to Islamabad successfully direct without fuel stops.

 

[User0001]

Munich is not a hub for Singapore Airlines. It only has the SQ327/328 transit flight and that's their lot.

 

[White Heather]

Yes they did, but all went outbound via Birmingham. There wa sjust one flight that went direct to Canada and that was a DC10.

There were 2 direct 747s to Toronto. The first one on the day of the runway epening, the second was a diversion from Newcastle, when their runway was blocked.
The DC 10 just replaced a 747 and operated via Birmingham on the very last service to Toronto. It did land on runway 14 while the 747 never did.

There was definitely a DC10 (included in my photos within the nostalgia section) that operated direct from LBA to Toronto, and it was not the last flight on the route which I was not there to see. Apart from the initial flight and the aforementioned Newcastle divert, only the DC10 operated direct. At that time the BHX runway was virtually the same length as LBA though, so it wasn't really anything to do with runway length.

 

[ls27]

I thought I was correct about the DC10. In the back of my mind I think it came in from Athens and did an extra flight. I might be wrong as memories are fading, and I am not sure about the runway usage as it would all depend on the wind direction at the time.
Certainly the DC8 of Worldways used 14 and 32.

 

[Aviador]

I don't have any information on the DC10 visit other than I know it took place. As for direct from Leeds to Toronto it's all down to aircraft type and weight. The larger aircraft generally have a longer range so the fuel capacity is greater. A flight from Leeds to Toronto is relatively short so it's entirely possible. A quick look at Boeing's Technical Specifications the capacity of a classic is 199,158 Ltrs or (199 tons) with a maximum range of 12,700 km. A 747 fully loaded with passengers, freight and sufficient fuel to reach Toronto (approximately 4000km from LBA) only a third of the total fuel capacity so that's significantly less weight than a fully loaded 747. The overall weight of the aircraft would be reduced by well over 130 tons.