Show notes
Recorded 03 October 2019 Written by: Geoff Dahl & Vinod Viswalingam Listen to this experience wherever you download your podcasts - including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and Overcast. Listen to it on Apple Podcasts. Stream by clicking here. Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing "save as." In this experience we look at the world of gate assignments, and why your plane is parked at a specific location. What is happening when you arrive at the airport and you're told that your gate is not available. We review the differences between gates and jet bridges. What does an airport need to do to prevent unnecessary mixing of passengers? What's a swing gate. What is the ramp and how is it set up? What happens on the ramp and inside the terminal when there's a last-minute gate change? What happens when you're parked out at a remote location or stand? Geoff shares his remote parking experience at DPS. Vinny has another really tight connection adventure with a bus at FRA. Vinny had a really long bus trip at IST. Don't forget about the weather – thunderbolts and lightning on top of snow and ice makes for gate backlogs and people needing to be careful not to dent the plane. Speaking of denting, Vinny shares stories of jet bridge training – and systems designed to prevent accidental dents. News Items: Business Traveller article "United CEO puts getting late passengers on planes before on-time departures" ch-aviation article "Scramble for Thomas Cook UK slots as Condor seeks new owner" If you have a story of gate changes and jet bridges, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ SELECTED LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE EXPERIENCE Cancún International Airport (CUN) Airport gate (Wikipedia) Jet bridge (Wikipedia) Airport ramp/apron (Wikipedia) US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance Schengen Area (Wikipedia) Quarantine gate Protecting Travelers' Health from Airport to Community: Investigating Contagious Diseases on Flights (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 03 April 2019) Istanbul Airport (Formerly ISL, changed to IST on 06 April 2019) London Heathrow Airport (LHR) History of Toronto Pearson International Airport/U.S. Border Preclearance (Wikipedia) Airports as Borderlands: American Preclearance and Transitional Spaces in Canada (University of Calgary (PDF) | 2010) Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) Calgary International Airport (YYC) Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) Swissport Servisair/GlobeGround/Penauille (defunct 2013) (Wikipedia) Menzies Aviation Air Canada (AC) Lavatory truck (aeroexpo.online) Mobile lounge (Wikipedia) Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) Edmonton International Airport (YEG) Evacuation Slide (Wikipedia) Arming and disarming doors Arm doors, cross check – learn the cabin crew talk (qantasnewsroom.com.au | 26 August 2016) Boeing 777 (boeing.com) Boeing 747-400 (airliners.net) Airbus 350-900 (airbus.com) Airbus 380 (airbus.com) Frankfurt Airport (FRA) Lufthansa (LH) Denpasar Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) Airbus 320 (airliners.net) Go-around (Wikipedia) Seat 1A Experience 019 – On the RTW road with Vinny and Geoff (show notes and audio) Out of control beverage cart at Chicago O'Hare (youtube.com | 30 September 2019) Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) Seat 1A Experience 009 - Wet leasing experience (show notes and audio) Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) THOR GUARD Denver International Airport (DEN) United Airlines (UA) Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (MT – ceased operations 2019) (Wikipedia) London Gatwick Airport (LGW) Landing slot (Wikipedia) IATA Worldwide Slot Guidelines - Effective 01 January 2019 (PDF) London Heathrow (LHR) Wizz Air (W6) WOW air (WW – ceased operations 2019) (Wikipedia) Monarch Airlines (ZB – ceased operations 2017) (Wikipedia) British Airways (BA) NEWS ITEMS businesstraveller.com | United CEO puts getting late passengers on planes before on-time departures (03 October 2019) https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2019/10/03/united-ceo-puts-getting-late-passengers-on-planes-before-on-time-departures/ "...In a perfect world, all flights would take off and land on time. In the real world, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz would rather see passengers make their connecting flights even if that means holding planes on the ground until travellers can get to the gate, CNBC reports..." United Airlines (UA) Oscar Munoz (Wikipedia) On-time departures 'be damned,' if it means passengers can make their connections, United Airlines CEO says (cnbc.com | 24 September 2019) ch-aviation.com | Scramble for Thomas Cook UK slots as Condor seeks new owner (01 October 2019) https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/81947-scramble-for-thomas-cook-uk-slots-as-condor-seeks-new-owner "...Wizz Air (W6, Budapest), Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow), and IAG International Airlines Group have expressed interest in slots held by defunct Thomas Cook Airlines UK (MT, Manchester Int'l) at London Gatwick airport, the Financial Times has reported. "We are not interested in the airline. We are not interested in other assets but we have an interest in the airport slots of Thomas Cook at Gatwick," CEO of the Hungarian LCC József Váradi said. Chief Executive Officer Shai Weiss told Bloomberg that Virgin Atlantic was also interested in Thomas Cook's slots at Manchester Int'l airport. Slots at Gatwick, while interesting, could be too pricey for the airline, although the airline would be tentatively interested in the night-time slots..." Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (MT) Condor (DE) Virgin and Wizz Air eye Thomas Cook's Gatwick daily slots (Financial Times | 26 September 2019) Virgin Atlantic Seeks Manchester Push With Thomas Cook Slots (Bloomberg | 26 September 2019) Wizz Air (W6) Virgin Atlantic (VS) IAG International Airlines Group Manchester Airport (MAN) US-Investor Indigo Partners gilt als Favorit für den Kauf von Condor (Handelsblatt | 25 September 2019) Indigo Partners, LLC (Wikipedia) bbc.com | British Airways owner IAG says strikes cost £121m https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49836391 "...British Airways owner IAG has warned that its profits will be lower than expected this year, partly due to the impact of strikes by its pilots. It said the strike earlier this month, in a row over pay and conditions, had cost it at least €137m (£121m)..." British Airways (BA) IAG International Airlines Group PODCAST CORRECTIONS, CLARIFICATIONS, CONFIRMATIONS Lightning The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Airports Council International (ACI) have 3 levels of precaution warning for lightning (Airside Safety Handbook Fourth Edition 2010 (PDF)) Level 1 - strong possibility of lightning or thunderstorms. Level 2 - lightning activity within an 8 kilometre (5 mile) radius of the airport. Level 3 - lightning activity within a 5 kilometre (3 mile) radius of the airport. The Transportation Research Board indicates that various US airports and airlines have set their own guidelines for lightning detection (Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 8 "Lightning-Warning Systems for Use by Airports" (PDF) | 2008) Generally yellow (level 2) indicates lightning activity within a 5 mile radius. A red warning (level 3) indicates lightning within a 3 mile radius. There are other companies providing lightning detection systems besides THOR GUARD. These include: Vaisala Earth Networks DTN/Meteorlogix UBIMET Thomas Cook There appear to be no immediate plans for WOW air (WW) to bid for Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (MT) former slots at London Gatwick (LGW). Wow Air's new owner now plans December relaunch (flightglobal.com | 08 October 2019) PEOPLE MENTIONED Oscar Munoz (Wikipedia) SHOW NOTES What's in this experience? [00:00:47] You arrive and your gate is not available. What's going on? [00:01:03] A few definitions to start. [00:01:56] The gate. [00:02:05] The jet bridge. [00:02:16] The ramp area. [00:02:27] You have to think about an airport and how it's laid out. [00:02:48] Domestic terminals. [00:03:26] What's going to happen if you mix different passenger types. [00:04:03] History of US preclearance problems at YYZ when it first started with mixing. [00:05:59] What an airport needs to do with infrastructure to prevent mixing. [00:06:32] Swing gates. [00:07:35] Ramp setup. [00:09:06] Last minute gate changes from a ramp perspective. [00:10:52] Gate requirements for baggage from international flights. [00:12:32] The people needed to bring a plane to gate. [00:13:53] What's happening inside the terminal when a switch happens. [00:15:42] Jet bridge sizes and configurations. [00:19:57] The old "moon buggy" mobile lounges at IAD and YEG. [00:20:27] Vinny's 380 two-level gate experience at FRA. [00:24:20] Gate experiences at remote parking positions. [00:25:18] Geoff's narrow body plane parking experience at DPS. [00:26:07] Vinny had another tight gate connection experience with a bus at FRA. [00:26:53] Revisiting Vinny's bus from the maintenance hanger at IST. [00:29:11] Weather affecting your gates. [00:30:32] Out of control vehicle on the ramp at ORD. [00:31:33] What happens when the jet bridge gets stuck?. [00:33:25] THOR GUARD lightning warning system. [00:34:21] Learning points. [00:37:54] News Items. [00:39:17] United CEO puts getting late passengers on planes before on-time departures. [00:39:24] Bankruptcy of Thomas Cook and scooping of LGW landing slots. [00:42:13] BA pilot strike over. [00:44:46] Show wrap-up. [00:45:04]