At 76.25 meters, the Boeing 747-8 is officially the world's longest aircraft (cargo or passenger usage). It can accommodate a maximum of 605 passengers (in an all economy class configuration), or around 400 passengers (in a 3 or 4 class configuration). The freighter version of the aircraft has a cargo capacity of 30,177 cu ft (854.5 m3). 53 aircraft are currently in service, with 36 of those being freighter versions. Currently, Lufthansa German Airlines is the ONLY two airline that operates the passenger version with 9 aircraft in active service, and a further 10 on order. It was a pleasure to be on this rare gem, nick-named the 'Queen of the Skies'. There is talk that the current Boeing 747 aircraft used by the President of the United States of America, nick-named Air Force One, will be replaced with the Boeing 747-8i in the near future. The aircraft I flew on today entered service on the 26th of July 2013 (aircraft Reg: D-ABYK), and this was it's 5th flight since entering service with Lufthansa. No wonder why the interior had a smell like that of a brand new Mercedes car! While most of the legacy European airlines (BA, Air France, KLM, Iberia, Alitalia, TAP, SAS, Finnair, and Aer Lingus), are going through an 'economic sufferage', Germany's national flag carrier, Lufthansa German Airlines, can be proud that it is one of the few airline companies in the Western hemisphere that is doing well. News earlier in London that the new UK Government is thinking of scrapping plans for the third runway at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport, will have wide repercussions for airline manufacturer Boeing, who have bet on the 'more flights more often' mantra in developing the 250-330 passenger 787 Dreamliner.
With no ability to increase aircraft movements the prize must go to Airbus who bet on the 526 seat Airbus A380-800 (nicknamed the 'Super Jumbo'). Lufthansa was the 2nd European airline to operate the A380, and has 10 aircraft currently in service operating on high density routes such as Beijing, Johannesburg, and Tokyo. On December 6, 2006, Lufthansa placed an order for 20 Boeing 747-8I airliners (the longest aircraft in the world), becoming the launch customer of the type. The airline currently has 9 aircraft in service, each with 386 seats; and has a further 10 on order. I had a chance to fly on this relatively brand new aircraft (which first flew on June 1st 2012). Lufthansa is the only airline that currently flies the passenger version of the Boeing 747-8i. Korean Airlines, Air China, and Arik Air have placed some orders for passenger version of this aircraft. One of the advantages of flying out of Heathrow (especially if you are departing out of the easterly runways') is that you get treated to some marvelous views of the capital (weather and visibility prevailing!). Though it must be said that with a take-off speed of around 250 knots/287mph (and increasing!), and an increasing altitude, it doesn't offer hope that the views will last for long- especially as it takes only around 6 minutes to get from Heathrow to the other side of London! The views never fail to captivate (camera ready at hand, I even managed to get a photo of my home as we flew over it for a final goodbye!) 'No photos! Security reasons, Move Along - delete those photos if you have taken them...(please)"8/23/2013
I decided to take a photo of the customs security point at Heathrow Airport for a report, and immediately I was told to delete the photo by the custom officers (they watched me delete the photos on the spot, and I had to show them that I have actually deleted the photos). I have had the same experience at other airports. Now, without being stereo-typically negative, in my experience normally you are likely to get that response in a country such as Russia or somewhere in the Middle East...but thanks to some idiots on 9/11/2001 you are likely to get that response at every airport in the world (irrespective of what color or race you are- seriously). Why is it that the places that sell the most cameras than any other - airports - don't let you take pictures? I mean ...you can't take a photo of the Security and Immigration Officers working. Why? It's not as if the area is out of bounds of the public...
(note: showing a Journalist pass sometimes makes them more angry) The sight of a Egyptair Boeing 777-300ER landing at Heathrow's Runway 27R caught my eye as I made my way in order to catch my flight. Despite the serious civil unrest and chaos that the country is going through, the airline is still flying normal schedules without any issues. Egypt's sea resorts, especially Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, are popular holiday destinations for many Europeans (July and August are the hottest months of the year at Sharm el-Sheikh, and become a beehive for avid scuba divers). The pristine waters of the Red Sea (it's actually turquoise), the year around sunshine, the great Egyptian hospitality and the delicious food all are key reasons why so many Europeans escape their boring and dull lands in search of sun, sea, and sand.
The land of the people who were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art and architecture is going through a tough time at the moment. While there may be enhanced security in places such as Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada (where I guess most of the passengers in the plane above would have come from), the country is going through a phase of continued unrest and the evolving political situation. In Cairo on the 14th of August Egyptian security forces ended sit-in protests at Nahda Square close to Cairo University in Giza and at Rabaa Al-Adaweya mosque in Nasr City. This resulted in at least 500 deaths. Violent clashes also occurred near Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandiseen, Cairo. It’s very likely that there will be further protests in Cairo- and let's hope that Great family run English pub and restaurant located close to the Northern Perimeter Road at Heathrow (just off Bath Road, and behind High Street Harlington). Perfect for pre take-off (or post-landing) English food - the Pheasant never fails to please.
'Fresh beer battered cod served with homemade chips and salad'- REAL English food never tasted so good. Wash it down with a pint of Windsor & Eton Conqueror Black IPA (or just water if you are flying!) I grew up in the days before London City Airport (LCY) was built. The airport is a Short Take-Off and Landing facility (STOL) located in the east of the city (next to Woolwich, and the Docklands). Back then, in the early 1980s, the site where the current runway is situated was nothing but a long stretch of concrete which was occasionally used as a docking port by container ships (hence the name Docklands).
The airport is surrounded by the water-filled Royal Albert and King George V docks to the north and south respectively. Due to the airport's proximity to Central London, and the surrounding residential areas, it has stringent rules imposed to limit the noise impact from aircraft operations. This, together with the physical dimensions of the 1,508 m (4,948 ft) runway and the steep glideslope (it's at 5.5 degrees as opposed to the stranded 3 degrees approach angle at most airports including Heathrow), limits the aircraft types that can use London City Airport. The size and layout of the airport and overall complexity caused by the lack of taxiways mean that the airport gets VERY busy during peak hours. It poses a challenge for the air traffic controllers because there is only one runway in use with a limited taxiway. Operations are restricted to 06:30 to 22:30 Monday to Friday, 06:30 to 13:00 on Saturdays and 12:30 to 22:30 on Sundays. These restrictions are related to noise. You may think that living in a quiet London suburb 15 miles away from the airport, such as Dulwich, would not be an issue when it comes to noise. Well, it does pose a problem, especially when LCY is using runway 09 (due to the Easterly winds, which account for around 40% of the year...around 90% of which falls in the summer months)...then it causes problems because landing aircraft come in LOUDLY over South-East London before turning around over Central London to land at runway 09. From my experience I find the main noise issue is with the older aircraft (BAe 146, and the Fokker 50) whose engines make that screeching noise as they speed in over SE London at a speed of around 200 knots at 2,800 feet. When the airport originally opened, the airport's officials promised the London community that noise would be kept at a minimum because they would have aircraft operating with 'quieter' engines. While that may have been the case with the likes of the BAe 146 and the Fokker 50 back in the 1980s...it is no longer the fact because these aircraft are far more nosier than the modern jetliners of today's era (Airbus A318, and some of the private jets that fly into London City Airport are quiet). However, for the moment, residents in South-East London can only hope that runway 09 is not used as much (I am sure the same problem occurs for residents of Barking and Dagenham when runway 27 is used for around 60% of the year). It's not that bad on the whole because the noise activity only happens during peak hours...but imagine having a BBQ in the garden and a jet screams past overhead every 5 minutes or so! Since it's introduction 6 years ago, the Airbus A380-800 has become a regular visitor to Heathrow, with Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines all flying this beast into London. Soon British Airways will start flying the A380 from LHR.
She's not as beautiful as the Boeing 747, however two things do stick out about the A380....she is remarkably quiet, and her enormous size (wingspan and length of fuselage both just under 80 meters)...which means that while you may be having a chat with your friend in a cafe, she will surprise you while gilding past quietly in the background..it's gets me every-time...almost as if a huge whale is in the sky... Wanna know what's she's like inside? Here, read THIS, and if you ARE flying First Class on her, then try the showers (can't beat a shower in the sky..) Seen here, Dwayne Malone of Emirates takes her out of Heathrow...back to Dubai. The crowded skies over London are some of the busiest in the world. With low level traffic from the five London airports', helicopters (police, ambulance, and others), private aircraft, AND the HUNDREDS of aircraft crossing our airspace everyday, it is no surprise that on a lovely summer's day the beautiful art created naturally by the aircraft contrails is enough to make the most prolific of artists jealous. Below is a photo of a Delta Airlines Airbus A330 passing at 38,000 feet over London on it's way to Paris. How do I know this in detail? I saw it on Flightradar24.com! The veteran Australian author and broadcaster, Clive James described the Boeing 747 as being (I quote): 'Like a winged supertanker full of odoriferous amethystine ordure', and 'a colossal machine'. His words echoed in my mind as I came face-to-face with this beauty on a hot summer's day at Heathrow International Airport.
Aviation is bringing along many gems in the sky, especially with the Boeing 787 'Dreamliner', the Airbus A380-800, and the Airbus A350-900XWB; but nothing will ever beat the imposing beauty of the original 'Queen of the Skies', the Boeing 747 (AKA, the REAL Jumbo Jet). Flying from China and onto the Arabian Sea (we came over from Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, Kunming, Nepal, Karachi, and into the Arabian Sea), the Airbus A330 comes close to the end of it's journey into it's final destination Abu Dhabi. Sunrises are always spectacular. Oblivious of the significance for earthlings, the sun rises on just another day above the skies at 39,000 feet.
Costing around US$222.5 million (€215 million) each, the Airbus A330-300 is one hell of a sexy machine. Etihad Airways has six of these beauties in their fleet, mainly operating on long haul routes out of their base Abu Dhabi. I had the pleasure of reviewing this flight from Shanghai Pudong to Abu Dhabi on board aircraft registered A6-AFB. A big thank you to the Captain and the Etihad Airways team for making this photo shoot happen!
Etihad Airways is a relatively brand new airline (established in 2003), and has one of the best cabin crew in the world from over 120 nationalities...and they have a kick-ass in-flight experience product too with all luxury comfortable seats, 5-star meals...give them a try next time! On the morning of the 6th of July 2013 just past 11.28am local time, a Boeing 777-200ER belonging to South Korea's Asiana Airlines (flight number OZ214) carrying 307 passengers and crew, crash landed while on approach onto San Francisco International Airport's Runway 28L. Whenever a plane crash happens, second guessing and pure rumors or any other speculation does no good and is of no value to anyone - even to professional journalists who work for Broadsheets - trust me on that one!. It can be extremely irritating (and distressing for passengers relatives), when people on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, PPRune, Airliners.net, Jetphotos.net and Fox News' etc. go about with their so called 'aviation experts', spewing historical events and their own takes on what could have gone wrong. I prefer to wait until either the wreckage is examined/investigation in complete or the NTSB is notified. It's one of the reasons that I don't turn on the TV at these times but rely on concrete factual information for journalists from informed media such as FT.com and the BBC. The weather was reported as very good; the latest METAR reported light wind, 10 miles (16 km) visibility, with no precipitation, and no forecast or reports of wind shear. The pilots performed a visual approach assisted by the runway's precision approach path indicator (PAPI). The landing gear and then the tail struck the seawall that projects into San Francisco Bay. Both engines and the tail section separated from the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted that the main landing gear, the first part of the aircraft to hit the seawall, "separated cleanly from [the] aircraft as designed". The vertical and both horizontal stabilizers fell on the runway before the threshold. The remainder of the fuselage and wings rotated (yawed) counter-clockwise 330 degrees as it slid westward. Video showed it pivoting about a wing and the nose while sharply inclined to the ground. It came to rest to the left of the runway, 2,400 feet (730 m) from the initial point of impact at the seawall. Out of the 291 passengers and 16 crew, sadly 3 passengers died, and 181 passengers suffered serious but non-fatal injuries. Out of the three who lost their lives, two were named as Ms. Ye Mengyuan and Ms. Wang Linjia, both Chinese nationals, and both 16-year-old middle school students from China's eastern Zhejiang province. They were seated at the rear of the plane and their bodies were found on the tarmac. The third passenger died of her injuries several days later at hospital. At the request of her immediate family, her name and the extent of her injuries were not published. Among the injured were three flight attendants who were thrown onto the runway while still strapped in their seats when the tail section broke off after striking the seawall short of the runway. Now, on that note a point about the photos of the crash and the relatives going around on Twitter etc. (especially the UK Daily Mail, and other tabloids), that can be so ridiculous. OK, photographers may have to get pics of the grieving families to keep their Editors happy ..BUT I don't want to OR have to look at them. It's just sick. RIP to those who have died. You can tell when the stupidity at The UK Daily Mail has reached new heights when they write false stories in order to get their readership high. The Editor has been trying to pretend that his rag is NOT a tabloid (heaven forbid) by spilling stories over the gutter in an effort to win a design competition at his local school. He should give up & just use the tabloid tricks that were developed by experts. The Boeing 777, like ALL American built aircraft (except the 787 Deamliner - now dubbed the 'nightmareliner' because of its high number of faults) is a very reliable and strong aircraft- the Boeing 777s are the aviation's equivalent of the John Deer Tractor, you can throw anything at them and not a single whisker in sight will damage them. This was the Boeing 777's first fatal accident, and second crash (previous: British Airways Flight 38 in 2008), and third hull loss since the Boeing 777 began operating commercially in 1995. It's a well known fact in the industry that around 95% of aircraft crashes happen 8 nautical miles either side of the airport below 3000 feet. 95% of aircraft fires happen in the first two hours. The fix is, when realizing it is uncontrollable, dive for the ground before the wing burns through. Record aloft is below 25 mins. Below is video animation showing the comparison between the actual flight path taken by flight OZ214 into San Francisco's Runway 28L, and what the correct flight path should have looked like. The video is a testament to a brilliantly-built aircraft; designed and modelled entirely on computers in the early 1990s. The video shows what happens if you can use the fuselage to dissipate the energy, then the landing gear and the engines shear off at extreme speed, as designed. Unlike steel, aluminium doesn't produce sparks like steel does. An experienced Airline pilot with over 28 years in the cockpit, who did not wish to be named, told me (I quote): 'It's long been the Airbus philosophy that "if the aircraft is not doing what you want (for ANY reason) disconnect the automatics and fly it manually at once". That works well in airlines where you have a wealth of basic Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flying skills to fall-back on. Sadly, with the death of general aviation around the world, there are many countries where pilots don't have that background. It's why Airbus has increased the endorsement program from 9 simulators to 13. Airbus now teaches people to fly each model visually with all systems working normally (especially after what happened with the Air France 447 crash). Who would have thought it would come to this? Many of us. Predicting that, one day, each pilot would have to pass a test of knowledge to survive. At Aviation Theory Centre in the early 90s I ran a series of lectures explaining that our books taught "To Pass The Test - Not Just The Exam". Sadly most theory centres just teach the syllabus and no more.' Another airline pilot gave me this account of an aircraft coming in too LOW into Dubai Airport a few days after the Asiana Airlines crash happened (I won't name the pilot who gave me this credible report): 'Blood ran cold today. 28 years of flying and never heard this from an APProach controller: APP: "XXXXX (an indian carrier) Are you too low? I have you at 800 feet!" [now, he usually transfers to TWR at about 5 miles (1500 feet) so there is no reason to be at that level on Approach.] XXXX: after long silence "XXXX going around" APP: "XXXX are you climbing? I still have you below radar lowest safe!" XXXX: " We are climbing through 1,500, can we make a visual circuit?" (this is how Gulf Air crashed an A320 and the clever controller decided to take it out of his hands...) APP: "Climb to 4000 feet and make left turn to 030." (Thereby saving the day, he never even answered the query for a visual approach.) How, you ask? Well the QNH was 994mb and 500 feet lower than the std of 1013. Setting the altimeter from high (1013) to a low number winds OFF altitude. Old Pilots say: "High to Low LOOKOUT below!" I bet the XXXX boys still had 1013mb set'. ' The below presentation, ('Children of Magenta'), provides a wealth of experience and advice for pilots of new-generation airliners (especially 787, A380, and A350). When in doubt: Disconnect automation, fall back on your flying skills and FLY THE AIRCRAFT. HOWEVER, the problem is: what if you a crew who have no experience in hand-flying aircraft, no raw flying experience to fall back-on (as those Asiana 214, and Air France 447 pilots)? One of my mates, an experienced Captain for Emirates, says: 'Always make sure YOU are flying the aeroplane, and that IT'S not flying you. Sadly, this brilliant instructor has passed away. He'd be rolling in his grave if he knew that there are thousands of pilots currently flying airliners who have never had such a background.'. Flying is not the same as it just to be back in the 1980s and even early 1990s- it's not as glamorous as it used to be...and even more importantly safety is plummeting these days. Did you know Singapore have fired ALL their expats since this accident at SFO? The week before this Asiana crash, a Singapore Airlines B777 did a go around on the same runway after doing the exact same thing…with a 777 full of passengers. That - in the 90s - would have been inconceivable!. When you have 300 passengers behind you, there is no room for failure, and it's dangerous to just depend on the Autopilot. No doubt, the Asiana Airlines crew were invited for a not-so polite chat over a tea session in Washington...no biscuits though. On the 14th of June, the Airbus A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body), made it's maiden flight captained by Airbus Chief Test Pilot, Peter Chandler. The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of long-range, two-engined wide-body jet airliners. The A350 is the first Airbus aircraft with both the fuselage and the wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer. I am in China, and I just thought I'd share this link while I am here. When you watch this, preface it with the knowledge that an Airbus A330 flight test team were killed during a test flight in 1994. It looks like a normal airliner..but you can never tell until it flies successfully. Check out the video below. Our flight into Hong Kong was delayed by an hour at least due to heavy thunderstorms, hail, and rainfall in the area around Hong Kong, and Southern China’s Guangdong Region. I took the above photo as we were making our decent into Hong Kong, somewhere between Dongguan and Zhongshan. Indeed, south China is experiencing a monsoon season at this time of the year and areas like this contain unstable air that any towering cumulus cloud can trigger and quickly become Cumulonimbus very quickly. Aircraft (especially commercial aircraft) avoid such clouds by at least 23 nautical miles (about 37 kms) on the upwind side. A typical Cumulonimbus takes less than 20 minutes to build. The most dangerous part of this is that at that particular time it does NOT show on the weather radar. It then becomes active for around 20 minutes (in which 95% of their lighting is internal (invisible in DAYLIGHT), flashing every 90 seconds or so- that can be LETHAL). They dissipate for 20 more minutes, becoming high-level cirrus clouds and low-level stratocumulus before eventually dying away.
It was because of this kind of activity that we had to stack in a hold at 7,000 feet around some 50km outside of the Hong Kong and Macau airspace for around 45 minutes before being given the all clear to land at Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok Airport’s runway. Unfortunately, on June the 1st 2009 an Air France Airbus A330 (flight AF447) flying from Brazil to Paris CDG entered two large Cumulonimbus clouds - one just over 40,000 feet high and then another that was much larger, topping an astronomical 53,000 feet high. The aircraft’s autopilot disengaged, pitot-tube stopped working, and the aircraft went into a deadly stall plummeting into the deep ocean within a few minutes. ALL 228 passengers and crew lost their lives. The key thing to bear in mind is that EVERY Cumulonimbus cloud expends as much energy as 3-10 nuclear explosions in its 20-minute active phase. Therefore, the next time a plane is delayed – don’t panic because it’s probably for a very good reason, and it may just be that your life is saved by the guys in the front office. There are seven daily non-stop flights to Hong Kong from London (with Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific). The London to Hong Kong route (and vice-versa) is a highly lucrative one because it connects these two world financial centres, and the demand is high with all flights almost always fully booked. With each airline carrier in direct competition, it is no wonder that the products are all very tempting to try. For this flight, I decided to check out the relatively brand new First Class cabin of British Airways. There are fourteen private suites located in the nose cone of the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, each with a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) bed, a 15-inch (38 cm) wide entertainment screen, and in-seat power. British Airways operate the Boeing 747-400 aircraft on this route, and in November 2013 the airline will start using the brand new Airbus A380-800 for the Hong Kong route. While these photos just offer a glimpse of the new First Class cabin, please take a look at my flight experience from SEAT 1A on British Airways Boeing 747-400 here. "What Happens On the Flight Deck...Stays on the Flight Deck".
No names, no pack drill. No aircraft types and nothing else. But really. An airline can preach Air Safety, Crew Resource Management and professionalism until the animals come home. But what 'professional' company allows both of its operating Pilots to sleep their way across the Bay of Bengal and half of a busy Indian airspace- failing to answer radio calls for almost an hour!? They apparently got a shock when the air hostess accidentally turned off the autopilot. Lucky the passengers didn't find out...and lucky that they eventually woke up. Here is how the UK Telegraph reported it. On the 29th of April 2013, a National Air Cargo Boeing 747-400 freighter on behalf of US Mobility Command, registration N949CA performing cargo flight N8-102 from Bagram (Afghanistan) to Dubai Al Maktoum (United Arab Emirates) with 7 crew and cargo consisting of 5 military vehicles, crashed shortly after takeoff from Bagram Air Base's runway 03 at 15:30 local time, and erupted into flames near the end of the runway within the perimeter of the Air Base. All 7 crew died in the accident.
National Air Cargo confirmed their aircraft N949CA with 7 crew, 4 pilots, 2 mechanics and a load master - initial information had been 8 crew -crashed at Bagram. The airline later added, that the aircraft had been loaded with all cargo in Camp Bastion (Afghanistan, about 300nm southwest of Bagram), the cargo had been inspected at Camp Bastion, the aircraft subsequently positioned to Bagram for a refuelling stop with no difficulty, no cargo was added or removed, however, the cargo was again inspected before the aircraft departed for the leg to Dubai Al Maktoum. A horrifying dashcam video captured the full extent of the crash with the Boeing 747-400F appearing to take off normally as it gained altitude, and then plunging into the ground like a rock. It’s the kind of stuff you may see in a nightmare. The video went viral on the internet and elsewhere (except it was not shown by some respected media outlets). There was a time in history when such things were NOT shown by the media. At the time the news broke out of the crash I was in Detroit, (Michigan), home state to six of the crew members who died. Interestingly enough on that day I was on the phone to a very good friend of mine who personally knew the deceased Captain of that unfortunate flight. Captain Rajan, former of Pan-Am and a veteran Boeing 747-400 training Captain with Boeing, told me of his utter shock and disbelief that the video of the crash was freely available on the internet. It’s a sad change of the times indeed that with all the modern technology and social media there is nothing that cannot be sold by anyone (and they don’t have to be journalist in order to do so). In my opinion, such videos should not be on the internet or elsewhere as a mark of respect for the deceased. Yes, there are lots of unmentionable and horrific videos on the internet, however normally such things are not shown by the media. It’s not a Hollywood movie...it’s totally disrespectful to those who died to show that video (In my opinion). When passengers arrive or depart from London's two major international airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, they will notice that the aircraft models that are displayed as welcoming adverts are in fact not representative of any of the British airlines.
On the 30th of March 2007, a scale model of Concorde which had the pride of place at Heathrow Airport's entrance for 16 years was sadly removed, and replaced in 2008 with an Emirates Airlines A380 aircraft model. British Airways had decided not to renew the £1.5m annual rent to advertise on the roundabout at the gateway to the London airport. Instead, Emirates Airlines, the major carrier of the United Arab Emirates, poached the prime spot with a six-year deal to advertise on the site. Meanwhile at Gatwick Airport, Turkish Airlines have partnered with Eye and Gatwick Airport to suspend a scale model aeroplane inside the airport terminal. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, situated in Gatwick’s North Terminal check-in measures 6.1m in length with a wingspan of 5.1m. The 124kg structure created by Leading Models will be suspended from the check-in ceiling until August 2013. Back in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s the airport billboards at British Airports were thronged with national pride such as BOAC, British Caledonian (remember them?!), British Midland, Virgin and so on. With the change of the times, it's the Middle Eastern and Asian carriers who seem to have the money (China Southern Airlines have huge billboards outside Terminal 4 at Heathrow). So the question is if there any chance that we may ever see British carriers advertising their airlines at British airports? Captain. Syed Bin Abdul Aziz A Rahman (former of Malaysia Airlines) brings this beauty back from Abu Dhabi on a fine crisp winter's day at Heathrow. Etihad Airways operates three daily flights between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow.
I have had a few people asking me the question: How do pilots and ATC communicate over Chinese airspace? The answer is: In aviation English (which I will give an example of at the end of this blog article). It is nothing new that most pilots operating on Chinese airlines cannot (with all due respect), speak good enough English (or none whatsoever in some cases). It would be true that the current and the future generation of Chinese pilots that are trained in Australia or the U.S.A. can converse in English, but those who are trained in China may not be able to converse in English (especially veteran pilots). The same goes for airline and military pilots from Japan, Korea, Russia, and other countries where English may not be widely used even as a second language. Having spoken to a few airline pilots from various international airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, British Airways, and Emirates, the problems come about when pilots whose first language is English are trying to work out what is going on when they listen to the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) transmissions over the airwaves. It certainly does not help if the local ATC and local pilots are communicating in Chinese rather than the international aviation language (i.e. English). Captain Bill Johnson, who flies the Boeing 777-300ER says though the problem is a global one, it can be more problematic over Chinese airspace because of the seriousness of the language issues. 'When we are flying over Chinese airspace, more times than one we have to repeat everything to make sure that the Chinese ATC and other aircraft in the immediate airspace can understand what we are saying,' said Captain Johnson who has over 20 years flying experience. ‘The main difference between flying over China or Russia, and other parts of the world is that the measurements used by Chinese and Russian ATC and pilots are in meters. The metric altitudes translate into feet, and most airlines give pilots a conversion table. The metric altitudes translate into feet, and most airlines give pilots a conversion table,’ said Captain Johnson. Captain Syed Abdul Aziz A. Rahman who flies the Airbus A340, told me that the Chinese and Russians have devised their own meters to feet conversion tables, which can be problematic if you have never flown into Russia or China. "Basically they have assumed that 300 meters = 1000 feet. Airlines have to then change it to their own specific standard operating procedure. The First Officer (or the Pilot not flying is most cases) reads the metric equivalent in feet which is then inputted into the FMS and altitude window by the Captain (or the Pilot who is flying) who also checks the ECAM ( Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor) screen for agreement on both sides. The procedure, which takes around 5 minutes, finishes by both pilots agreeing visually and verbally," said Captain Rahman, a veteran with over 22 years flying experience. The checking procedure at the end is so important because otherwise pilots can have problems when flying over international airspace. I fondly recall sitting in the jumpseat of a China Southern Airlines Boeing 757 from Guangzhou to Sanya where the captain hardly spoke a single word of English. He spoke some aviation language such as 'Standby', 'Affirmative', 'OK, China Southern 6748 climb to flight level 350'. But to my surprise some of the most important instructions were in Chinese, such as 'Cleared for take-off', 'Cleared to land', 'V1.....V2...Rotate' were all in Chinese! His English, with all due respect, was so limited that instead of telling me to wait he shouted aviation terms 'standby....standby!'. On that particular occasion even the First Officer could not communicate in normal English. Captain Sheetal Rajan, a senior training Captain on the Boeing 747-400 with the Boeing company and CEO of 'Air Safety Equipment', says that even though the minimum required international standard for English is IACO Level 4 (which is equivalent to Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)), he is still surprised that some pilots in places such as China and Russia tend to have a lower level of English than the international required standard. ‘I suppose they may just rely on using aviation English,’ says Captain Rajan. Because of the amount of traffic in the skies and the quick turnaround time needed at airports for take-offs and landings, the vast majority of ATC around the world speak quickly (a crude example is the ATC at London Heathrow where a plane lands or take-offs EVERY 50 seconds or so!). In busy airspaces such as India and China it is no exception. Even a one minute delay in the aviation industry can end up costing hundreds of dollars, so ATC are always under pressure to make sure that planes get from A to B as safely and quickly as possible. With this in mind most of the ATCs whose first language is not English (i.e. Indians, Chinese, Thai, Russians etc.) tend to speak quickly to the pilots. However to eliminate confusion they have to repeat it twice over so that the pilots can understand what they are going on about. Unless, of course, there is not that much traffic around so then ATC can speak as clearly and slowly as possible (which is rare around busy airports such as Shanghai Pudong, Beijing etc.). The skies over China can get ridiculously busy, and with the aviation industry seeing a fast growth in the country, it would only be time when Chinese pilots will need to start speaking fluent English. Examples of aviation language: Standby = please wait Retard = Its an autothrottle callout during flare to retard the thrust levers (normally you hear the FMS say this 3 times….’Retard, retard, retard’) Affirmative = OK,I understand Flight Level 350 = 35,000 feet (similarly Flight Level 360 = 36,000 feet and so on) Cleared for take-off/Cleared to land (easy to understand!) Climb Up/Descend (easy to understand!) Turn right heading 180 degrees/Turn left heading 180 degrees etc. Speed back to 170knots (or 180 knots etc.) The alphabet from A-Z is standard as with the police/fire/ambulance services (A= Alpha, B = Bravo, C= Charlie, D= Delta, E= Echo, F= Foxtrot, G= Golf, H= Hotel, I= India, J= Juliet, K= Kilo, L= Lima, M= Mike, N= November, O= Oscar, P= Papa, Q= Quebec, R= Romeo, S=Sierra, T=Tango, U=Uniform, V=Victor, W=Whiskey, X=X-ray, Y= Yankee, Z=Zulu !!) As we cruise from Dubai to Heathrow in the Emirates A380 aircraft, the afternoon Europe-bound fleet heads over the Turkish Peninsula with the sun's bright rays hitting straight at us. Once past Turkey, in Eastern European airspace, as we climb to 39,000 feet and start saving fuel, the Captain took some time to talk about the flight dynamics (you can just make out the Senior First Officer's hand on the left). The A380’s faster cruising speed, 0.85 Mach, is faster than most aircraft. (photos taken by James Nixon)
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Get in Touch:LIFE MATTERSHere I share my thoughts
and experiences during my travels, and how some things have affected my life as an expat and world traveller. Travelling is about capturing that moment in life. Every word, view and opinion on this page is that of Navjot Singh - except where indicated. The most recent is at the top. Scroll down to read the archive. Or search using CTRL+F (COMMAND + F) and enter a keyword to search the page. Just some of the stories you never heard before. The NAVJOT-SINGH.COM web blog is separate to this web site....Click blog, which may not be visible in some countries due to local firewall restrictions, so in those cases this weblog may be read. The weblog also includes some of my press trip reports- most of which are not published on the official blog because of copyright issues. The weblog also contains articles that may be associated directly with a PR trip for a country, airline or a hotel. These are PR reviews done in relations with various companies. If you are an investor or a trend watcher then you may find this website useful as investing has a lot to do with personal observations and finding the ideal trend or next big thing. The average human on the street frequently knows far more about the state of the economy than politicians, university professors, subject matter experts, and financial analysts who seldom travel, or if they do so, only from one hotel to another hotel! The pulse and vibrancy of an economy is nowhere more visible than on a country's streets. All photos and words are © Navjot Singh unless stated. Photos taken by others or by agencies are appropriately copyrighted under the respective name. No photo or word/s may be taken without the prior written permission by the author (i.e. Navjot Singh). All Rights Reserved. Archives
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