We here at MTP usually focus on trends in the travel industry, rather than personal experience. However, a recent travel experience hits on an issue related to fuel economies and airline operations. I was recently traveling on a US Airways flight from Washington’s Reagan International (DCA) to Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL). The weather en route was generally fine, though we did hit some headwinds and had to be routed around Tropical Storm Fay in northern FL.
As we neared our destination in South Florida, the flight had to be "re-routed" to stop in West Palm Beach (PBI) to pick up additional fuel. For those not familiar with PBI and FLL, they are 42.6 miles apart (give or take). Pilot said we had to stop and get gas; this turned into an extra hour for the flight to go the additional 40 miles.
It begs the question of just how low our fuel level was that the pilot was unable to go the extra 40 miles (or so). I’ve read some recent complaints that US Air is reducing the excess fuel on board to cut operational costs. Here are a few articles about how the pilot’s union is responding to pressure from the airline
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/07/18/20080718biz-usairways0718.html
http://cbs2chicago.com/national/us.airways.pilots.2.772910.html
To collect more details, I posted this message to a forum on the FlyerTalk website; feel free to read the responses of your fellow road warriors. Out of this whole experience, we did find a very interesting website which allows travelers to see the actual flight path taken by their pilot called FlightAware. Here is the actual path of my flight.
And that was how my day went.