What causes turbulence, is it dangerous?

Turbulence is the most common cause of injury to air passengers: in the US alone there are an estimated 58 injuries each year due to turbulence, and in extreme cases aircraft are forced to make emergency landings.

Pilots will always keep their seatbelts fastened while seated on an aircraft and will usually advise you to do the same. But is turbulence really something to be afraid of? British Airways pilot Steve Allright explains.

What causes turbulence?

Many different things may cause turbulence, but each and every one of them is known and understood by pilots. Every day I fly, I expect a small amount of turbulence, just as I’d expect the odd bump in the road on the drive to work. Turbulence is uncomfortable but not dangerous. It is part of flying, and is not to be feared.

Different aspects of the weather cause different types of turbulence. CAT is an abbreviation for Clear Air Turbulence – the most common form of turbulence you are likely to experience.

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Air tends to flow as a horizontal snaking river called a jet stream. A jet stream can sometimes be thousands of miles long but is usually only a few miles wide and deep. Depending on the direction of travel, our flight planners either avoid (into a headwind) or use (into a tailwind) these jet streams to cut fuel costs, as they can flow up to 250 mph. Just like a fast-flowing river swirling against the riverbank, where the edge of the jet stream interacts with slower moving air, there may be some mixing of the air which causes turbulence.

Can it be avoided?

You cannot see CAT, you cannot detect it on radar, and you cannot accurately forecast it, but there are other ways of avoiding it. In the main we rely on reports from other aircraft, which we hear either directly or which are passed on by air traffic control. We then consider the options available to us. Our endeavours to fly at an altitude that has been reported as smooth may be prevented by several constraints such another aircraft occupying that level, or the weight of the aircraft at that time.

Whatever the circumstances, your pilot will find the most comfortable path to your destination without compromising your safety. Just like you, we experience the movement and would prefer a smoother ride.

Is turbulence more likely on certain routes?

Any airport is at the mercy of strong winds on any given day. The same applies to jet streams on any given route, although there is generally more chance of turbulence crossing the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) when flying south across Africa, for example.

How bad can turbulence get?

Flight crews around the world share a common classification of turbulence: light, moderate and severe. The definitions are laid down in our manuals and help us to make an assessment as to what our course of action should be.

For the fearful flyer, even light turbulence can be upsetting. For pilots, light turbulence is no different to a bumpy road for a taxi driver or a slightly uneven section of track for a train driver – a small, but totally safe, inconvenience and very much part of our daily lives. In light turbulence, the aircraft may be deviating by just a few feet in altitude.

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Moderate turbulence strikes no fear into pilots, as they will experience this level of turbulence for a few hours in every thousand hours they fly. It usually lasts for no more than 10 or 15 minutes, but occasionally may last for several hours, on and off.

This sort of turbulence will unsettle even some regular travellers and will cause drinks to spill. The aircraft may be deviating in altitude by 10 or 20 feet. No action is required by the pilot to control the aircraft, but the flight crew may decide to try a different altitude if the turbulence persists.

Severe turbulence is extremely rare. In a flying career of over 10,000 hours, I have experienced severe turbulence for about five minutes in total. It is extremely uncomfortable but not dangerous. The aircraft may be deviating in altitude by up to 100 feet (30 metres) or so, up as well as down, but nothing like the thousands of feet you hear some people talking about when it comes to turbulence.

I should stress that this level of turbulence is so rare that leisure travellers will almost certainly never experience it and nor will most business people.

Telegraph

New iPhone App for travelers is here - Available on Android soon

Nervous flyers who worry every time they have to board a flight may have a new tool to calm their in-flight nerves. Taktik Labs, a new software company lead by a licensed commercial pilot, recently debuted their new app that provides real-time data to flyers’ iPhones with the goal of bringing a little calm to every passenger.

Titled SkyGuru, the smartphone app is available today on iPhone and is expected to launch for Android phones by the end of the year. Flyers use the app every time they board their aircraft by plugging in their flight number. From there, the app will gather the most up-to-date data about the flight and the route, including weather information and a real-time turbulence forecast to prepare for rough skies.

In addition, SkyGuru also provides an explanation of how the aircraft operates from start to finish. Using the sensors on the phone, the app can detect unfamiliar sounds and motions and provide explanations to the sensations flyers may get nervous about as they travel. Developers say the secret to the app’s mechanics lie in how data is downloaded prior to flight, paired with maximizing all the functionality of iPhone sensors.

“All the necessary information about your flight gets uploaded to your device: weather forecast, route maps, your flight history, and a lot more,” the developers write in the FAQ section of their website. “The iPhone sensors help identify what is happening at every stage and SkyGuru is commenting on every process during the entire flight.”

While the app is available for a fee on the App Store, developers are working on alternative models as well. Additional options planned for future flights include a pay-per-flight option.

FlyerTalk

Ryanair adds Newcastle-Madrid service in summer 2017

Ryanair further extended its Newcastle summer 2017 schedule with a new route to Madrid starting in March, in addition to three new routes to Faro, Girona and Palma, five new summer services to Gdansk, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Warsaw and Wroclaw, and more flights to Alicante, Dublin (double daily) and Malaga.

In Newcastle, Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Robin Kiely said:

“We are pleased to further extend our Newcastle summer 2017 schedule, with a new route to Madrid, in addition to our three new routes to Faro, Girona and Palma, the continuation of our new services to Gdansk, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Warsaw and Wroclaw into summer, and more flights to Alicante, Dublin and Malaga, which will deliver over 750,000 customers p.a. and support 560 jobs at Newcastle Airport”.

Newcastle Airport’s Aviation Development Manager, Leon McQuaid said:

“We are delighted to see Ryanair continue to expand their summer17 offering from Newcastle with these exciting flights to Madrid. Madrid is a leading European city and another excellent addition to our flight programme as we continue to explore and add further city destinations accessible from Newcastle. With twice weekly flights conveniently timed, we expect this service to be extremely popular with both business and leisure travellers throughout the region.”

Aviation Tribune

American AA1479 B738 at Portland and Phoenix, blew tyre on departure

American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N931AN performing flight AA-1479 from 
Portland,OR to Phoenix,AZ (USA) with 157 people on board, departed Portland's runway 28L maintaining routine communication. Descending towards Phoenix the crew declared emergency reporting a possibly blown tyre on departure. The aircraft landed safely on Phoenix's runway 08 and stopped on the runway. Emergency services confirmed the inboard left main tyre was blown. The aircraft was towed to the apron.

The Aviation Herald

Wizzair W64551 A320 at Bourgas, rejected takeoff due to bird strike

A Wizz Air Airbus A320-200, registration HA-LWC performing flight W6-4551 from Bourgas (Bulgaria) to London Luton,EN (UK), was accelerating for takeoff from Bourgas' runway 04 when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed (about 110 knots over ground) due to a bird strike. The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron.

A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration HA-LYU positioned to Bourgas, performed the flight and is estimated to reach London with a delay of 7.5 hours.

The airport reported a bird impacted the aircraft.

Passengers reported they observed while disembarking the aircraft, that the main tyres were deflated.

The Aviation Herald

Lufthansa LH1820 A320 at Palma Mallorca, bird strike

A Lufthansa Airbus A320-200, registration D-AIUW performing flight LH-1820 from Munich 
(Germany) to Palma Mallorca,SP (Spain), was on approach to Palma's runway 24L descending through 5000 feet MSL when a vulture impacted and penetrated the nose of the aircraft and became embedded. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 24L.

The aircraft was unable to perform the return flight LH-1821, the flight was therefore cancelled.

The occurrence aircraft departed Palma Mallorca for positioning LH-9921 about 28.5 hours after landing.

Spain's Airport Operator AENA reported the vulture impacted the aircraft at about 5000 feet MSL.

The Aviation Herald

Wizz Air announced new route from Sofia to Catania

Wizz Air today announced a new route from Sofia to Catania on the island of Sicily as well as a domestic service connecting the capital with Varna.

The new services will commence on 26 March 2017. Catania flights will be operated with two weekly frequencies on Wednesdays and Sundays while Varna will be a daily service.

Since its first flight in 2006, Wizz Air has continuously expanded its operations in Bulgaria. The airline currently operates from three airports: Sofia, Varna and Bourgas and offers flights on 33 routes to 17 countries from Bulgaria. The airline recently announced further expansion plans on deploying a seventh aircraft, arriving to its Sofia base in December. The additional aircraft means a 42% in seat capacity year on year which will be deployed on new routes announced today as well as earlier announced services to Nuremberg, Basel and Doncaster Sheffield.

Speaking at a press conference in Sofia George Michalopoulos, the Chief Commercial Officer of Wizz Air said:

“Today’s announcement once again underlines our commitment to Bulgaria. We brought our service to Bulgaria 10 years ago and remain highly committed to bringing more routes, developing infrastructure and further investing in our Sofia base. Let me also take this opportunity to announce the deployment of our brand new A321 to Sofia from 2017 and remind you our recent route launches which will start in coming weeks and months connecting Sofia with Kutaisi, Budapest, Doncaster and Basel. All the above simply reaffirms our commitment to Bulgaria.”

Aviation Tribune

Austrian begins flights to Los Angeles from 10Apr17

Austrian Airlines will add a new long-haul destination in North America to its flight schedule in the summer of 2017.

Starting on April 10, 2017, a Boeing 777 will take off for Vienna bound for Los Angeles, the largest city in California, up to six times each week.

“After Chicago, Newark and Miami, L.A. is now the fourth new flight destination and the so far biggest leap into the USA. We will fly to the West Coast with our existing fleet and are already very excited about this new venture”, says Austrian Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Otto.

In an initial step, the Vienna-Los Angeles route will be served seasonally in the summer 2017 flight schedule. The metropolis of Los Angeles with its millions of inhabitants is not only interesting for point-to-point but especially for transfer traffic. About two-thirds of the passengers will transfer flights at the Vienna flight hub.

In its summer 2017 flight schedule, Austrian Airlines will offer a total of up to 44 weekly non-stop flights to North America. This will encompass up to five times per week to Miami, a maximum of six weekly flights each to Los Angeles and Toronto, and up to one flight each day to Washington and Chicago. Austrian Airlines will continue to offer thirteen weekly flights to New York. However, flight times to New York JFK will be adjusted as of March 27, 2017. Of the six weekly flights to New York, four of the departures will be shifted from the morning to the afternoon. Flight schedule changes such as these will enable Austrian Airlines to free sufficient capacity in its existing aircraft fleet to offer flight service to Los Angeles and thus add another long-haul destination. Thanks to the new flight times, customers will have the advantage of being able to choose between a morning flight to Newark and an afternoon flight to New York JFK, and thus the opportunity to travel to New York at different times of day.

Aviation Tribune

China Airlines first A350 takes to the skies

The aircraft bearing the airline’s distinctive livery will now enter the final phase of production, including further ground and flight tests. This first A350-900 for China Airlines is scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks.

China Airlines has 14 A350-900s on order. The aircraft is expected to be deployed on the carrier's long-haul routes to Europe and on selected regional routes. The A350-900 will join China Airlines' Airbus fleet including A330s and A340s on its regional and long haul services. 

The A350 XWB is the world’s latest generation airliner and the newest member of Airbus’ modern, comfortable & efficient widebody product family. It features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fiber fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions, and significantly lower maintenance costs. 

To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 810 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 43 customers worldwide, already making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.

Airbus Press release

Meridiana adds Recife/Fortaleza service from 03Nov16

Meridiana in Northern winter season plans to launch new destination in Brazil, currently scheduled 1 weekly flight to Recife. From 03NOV16, the airline will operate Milan Malpensa – Recife – Fortaleza – Milan Malpensa route on Thursdays, with Air Italy Boeing 767.

03NOV16 – 15DEC16
IG3740 MXP1100 – 1705REC1915 – 2040FOR2210 – 1155+1MXP 767 4

22DEC16 – 23MAR17
IG3740 MXP0900 – 1505REC1635 – 1800FOR1930 – 0915+1MXP 767 4

Routesonline