Flow Control

[Gerard M Foley]

Friday I was in a Southwest 737 that waited about half an hour at the
gate in Columbus for clearance to start for Philadelphia. We made the
flight in a couple of minutes over an hour, landing without delay.

Returning Sunday night the plane left the gate and spent an hour on the
taxiway, engines idling, moving half a dozen or more times, until we got
to the head of the line and took off for our hour and a quarter flight
to Columbus.

Does it cost much fuel to have the engines turning over, revving up to
move forward and so on for an hour, with a dozen or more planes in line?
Couldn't the same excellent flow control that holds at the gate for a
clear landing slot at the destination be used to hold at the gate until
it is really time to get out to the runway at the originating airport?

Gerry
http://www.pbase.com/gfoley9999/
http://www.wilowud.net/
http://home.columbus.rr.com/gfoley
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html
http://foley.foleypages.net/~gerry/

[Allan9]

Airline marketing normally controls the gate. They don't know or care about
the fuel.
Al

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gerard M Foley" <***@columbus.rr.com>
To: <***@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:49 PM
Subject: Flow Control

Friday I was in a Southwest 737 that waited about half an hour at the gate
in Columbus for clearance to start for Philadelphia. We made the flight
in a couple of minutes over an hour, landing without delay.
Returning Sunday night the plane left the gate and spent an hour on the
taxiway, engines idling, moving half a dozen or more times, until we got
to the head of the line and took off for our hour and a quarter flight to
Columbus.
Does it cost much fuel to have the engines turning over, revving up to
move forward and so on for an hour, with a dozen or more planes in line?
Couldn't the same excellent flow control that holds at the gate for a
clear landing slot at the destination be used to hold at the gate until it
is really time to get out to the runway at the originating airport?
Gerry
http://www.pbase.com/gfoley9999/
http://www.wilowud.net/
http://home.columbus.rr.com/gfoley
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html
http://foley.foleypages.net/~gerry/

[Allan9]

Jerry
I sat in ORD Tower one Sunday afternoon and there were 85 aircraft in line
for departure
Al

----- Original Message -----
From: "Allan9" <***@neo.rr.com>
To: <***@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 11:30 PM
Subject: Re: Flow Control

Post by Allan9
Airline marketing normally controls the gate. They don't know or care
about the fuel.
Al
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:49 PM
Subject: Flow Control

Post by Gerard M Foley
Friday I was in a Southwest 737 that waited about half an hour at the
gate in Columbus for clearance to start for Philadelphia. We made the
flight in a couple of minutes over an hour, landing without delay.
Returning Sunday night the plane left the gate and spent an hour on the
taxiway, engines idling, moving half a dozen or more times, until we got
to the head of the line and took off for our hour and a quarter flight to
Columbus.
Does it cost much fuel to have the engines turning over, revving up to
move forward and so on for an hour, with a dozen or more planes in line?
Couldn't the same excellent flow control that holds at the gate for a
clear landing slot at the destination be used to hold at the gate until
it is really time to get out to the runway at the originating airport?
Gerry
http://www.pbase.com/gfoley9999/
http://www.wilowud.net/
http://home.columbus.rr.com/gfoley
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html
http://foley.foleypages.net/~gerry/

[Robert Lochry]

It's not just the fuel that is expensive. The predominate method of paying the crew members is by the minute. On a wide body you may have 12 flight attendants and several pilots who are being paid accordingly. The aircraft itself is running up block time (read expensive) even though it is actually "out of service" while it holds for an hour or two in line.

Bob


----- Original Message -----
From: Gerard M Foley<mailto:***@columbus.rr.com>
To: ***@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU<mailto:***@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:49 PM
Subject: Flow Control


Friday I was in a Southwest 737 that waited about half an hour at the
gate in Columbus for clearance to start for Philadelphia. We made the
flight in a couple of minutes over an hour, landing without delay.

Returning Sunday night the plane left the gate and spent an hour on the
taxiway, engines idling, moving half a dozen or more times, until we got
to the head of the line and took off for our hour and a quarter flight
to Columbus.

Does it cost much fuel to have the engines turning over, revving up to
move forward and so on for an hour, with a dozen or more planes in line?
Couldn't the same excellent flow control that holds at the gate for a
clear landing slot at the destination be used to hold at the gate until
it is really time to get out to the runway at the originating airport?

Gerry
http://www.pbase.com/gfoley9999/<http://www.pbase.com/gfoley9999/>
http://www.wilowud.net/<http://www.wilowud.net/>
http://home.columbus.rr.com/gfoley<http://home.columbus.rr.com/gfoley>
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html<http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/pollock/263/egypt/egypt.html>
http://foley.foleypages.net/~gerry/<http://foley.foleypages.net/~gerry/>