4 ms·

> The future in long haul is mid-size highly efficient twin engine jets and here Airbus is scrambling to catch up with Boeing in both sales and design I agree

by ptero 9y ago

> The future in long haul is mid-size highly efficient twin engine jets and here Airbus is scrambling to catch up with Boeing in both sales and design I agree with your first paragraph, but not at all sure about this. Current air transportation is very stratified, but some of its numerous rules could get a major rework in the next N years (N >= 10). Current setup has mid-size sweetspot when optimized on existing rules on routes, airport slots, weather requirements and in general ATC that is over 30 years old. Even if only parts of the plans get accepted they can change optimizations significantly, e.g. if and when Nextgen allows planes fly directly from A to B (instead of along a few pre-defined segments) it might push sweetspot from mostly mid-size to a bimodal distribution: smaller for small airports, larger between main hubs. Or some other way.

code4tee 9y ago
It’s actually the airlines dragging their feet on a lot of this, not “30 year old ATC.” Many airlines don’t upgrade their planes to have the latest equipment. Flew in a small personal plane with a friend that’s a pilot and he was explaining how in several areas his small plane has more advanced avionics than commercial airliners. For example, his plane is certified to fly the latest 3D GPS based landing approaches while many commercial airliners still don’t have the necessary equipment onboard.
- ptero 9y ago
  > It’s actually the airlines dragging their feet on a lot of this, not “30 year old ATC.” Many airlines don’t upgrade their planes to have the latest equipment. Yes, and I believe they do not upgrade because it makes no business sense for them. Regulators say, for example, "install ADS-B so you are compliant with latest standards" which at the moment has no tangible benefits for the airline. If, by installing it airline would get useful additional capabilities, such as being able to fly direct from point A to point B or allow for lower separation I suspect they would upgrade quickly. The above is not (really) bashing ATC -- there is a very low tolerance for mid-air collisions, so regulatory change is very, very slow.
  - bsder 9y ago
    > Yes, and I believe they do not upgrade because it makes no business sense for them. Agreed. Those little wingtip flip-ups--man, those went through the industry like wildfire. I never saw those and then BAM suddenly they were on every plane I flew on. The airlines can move like the wind when money is actually involved.

by ptero 9y ago

code4tee 9y ago

It’s actually the airlines dragging their feet on a lot of this, not “30 year old ATC.” Many airlines don’t upgrade their planes to have the latest equipment. Flew in a small personal plane with a friend that’s a pilot and he was explaining how in several areas his small plane has more advanced avionics than commercial airliners. For example, his plane is certified to fly the latest 3D GPS based landing approaches while many commercial airliners still don’t have the necessary equipment onboard.

ptero 9y ago
> It’s actually the airlines dragging their feet on a lot of this, not “30 year old ATC.” Many airlines don’t upgrade their planes to have the latest equipment. Yes, and I believe they do not upgrade because it makes no business sense for them. Regulators say, for example, "install ADS-B so you are compliant with latest standards" which at the moment has no tangible benefits for the airline. If, by installing it airline would get useful additional capabilities, such as being able to fly direct from point A to point B or allow for lower separation I suspect they would upgrade quickly. The above is not (really) bashing ATC -- there is a very low tolerance for mid-air collisions, so regulatory change is very, very slow.
- bsder 9y ago
  > Yes, and I believe they do not upgrade because it makes no business sense for them. Agreed. Those little wingtip flip-ups--man, those went through the industry like wildfire. I never saw those and then BAM suddenly they were on every plane I flew on. The airlines can move like the wind when money is actually involved.