Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Can You Avoid Unscheduled Fuel Stops on Europe-to-U.S. flights?

By Susan Carey

Stronger-than-usual North Atlantic headwinds in recent weeks have forced more planes to make unscheduled fuel stops on westbound flights between Europe and the U.S. For travelers, that can mean huge headaches — missed connections and late arrivals.
Is there anything you can do to avoid it?

Maybe. First, understand what causes the problem. A supercharged jet stream currently galloping across the U.S. and North Atlantic disproportionately affects U.S. carriers who ply the trans-Atlantic routes with smaller 757 jets. The planes can only travel about 4,000 nautical miles in the best of times, and when 60 knot winds are resisting the path of westbound aircraft, fuel burns more quickly and pilots have to land to top off the tanks above the mandated reserve amount they always must carry.

The Continental Airlines unit of United Continental Holdings Inc. is the biggest operator of the single-aisle, two-engine 757s across the Atlantic, and it has been hit the hardest: at least 57 unplanned fuel pit stops in December and the first week of January, or about 4% of its 757 flights from Europe to the East Coast. These diversions don’t always take long – maybe 45 minutes or an hour – but the time on the ground, plus the rerouting, can stretch into delays long enough to make passengers miss their connecting flights when they reach their U.S. gateway airports.

For travelers intending to visit Western Europe in the coming weeks while the winds remain strong, there are several ways to find out what type of plane the airline intends to use on the route – although that can always change for mechanical or other reasons. Airlines’ own Web sites show the type of aircraft scheduled on the route by date and flight number, and often show seat maps. TripAdvisor LLC’s SeatGuru Web site claims to offer details of 722 seat maps from 97 airlines.

European carriers tend to use larger equipment than some of the U.S. airlines that use 757s. You don’t have to be an expert on aircraft. The key is whether the seat map shows a single aisle (likely a 757) or two aisles, which could be any number of larger jetliners that have roomier cabins and can fly farther without a fuel pit stop.

For fliers who are taken on a scenic detour to Goose Bay, Gander or Halifax, Canada, to gas up, there is good news and bad news. The good is that more fuel is better. The bad: airlines assign set mileage awards to routes, often based on miles as the crow flies. So any diversions that would lengthen the trip won’t yield extra miles over the set amount in your frequent-flier account.

(Read the full Wall Street Journal article here.)

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