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So logistically, how does this work. The pilots fly the planes there, and have to catch a bus home? Of they have a small plane to take them back? They have spec

So logistically, how does this work. The pilots fly the planes there, and have to catch a bus home? Of they have a small plane to take them back? They have special pilots that they fly out just to take them here? And when they go back to work, the pilots all travel out to pick up their plane and start their routes? Where these planes are stored, I imagine they must have constant maintenance on them. Or do they need to fly them back and get checked over by the airline? This is such a huge undertaking that is mostly hidden from us.

cyberferret 7y ago
A friend of mine was a ferry pilot for the airlines. But essentially, a crew flies the plane out to its storage destination, and there is usually transport arranged out for them - either a bus, or a smaller corporate jet or even a piston engine a/c would be flown out with them to carry them back home or to their next deployment location. As for them returning to service, yes, you guessed right - they have to be checked while still on the ground by a maintenance team, then if they have been there for a while, they have to be flown to a maintenance base for fairly extensive servicing before they can be declared airworthy enough to carry passengers again. With luck, this airport probably has a service hangar capable of handling these aircraft types and make them airworthy again, so I expect that the airline might find it more economical to ship an entire maintenance team with spare parts to be based out of here for a month or so while they get their planes back in the air.
- cromka 7y ago
  Since the procedures require such extensive checks after those dormant planes' return to service, wouldn't you say that once all of them become airborne again, statistically speaking the risk of catastrophic failures is going to increase? I am afraid well see some accidents end of this year...
  - hef19898 7y ago
    That's not likely. The checks to get the grounded aircraft back in air are quite extensive. And similar checks are regularly conducted under normal conditions anyway. It might even be the case that we see less accidents, as more aircraft are getting extensive checks than before. As long as maintenance is done correctly that is. Which was true before already as well
takinola 7y ago
I once met a bunch of guys at Graceland that had just flown in a jet for delivery for Fedex. They fly in the plane and then fly commercial back home.

cyberferret 7y ago

A friend of mine was a ferry pilot for the airlines. But essentially, a crew flies the plane out to its storage destination, and there is usually transport arranged out for them - either a bus, or a smaller corporate jet or even a piston engine a/c would be flown out with them to carry them back home or to their next deployment location. As for them returning to service, yes, you guessed right - they have to be checked while still on the ground by a maintenance team, then if they have been there for a while, they have to be flown to a maintenance base for fairly extensive servicing before they can be declared airworthy enough to carry passengers again. With luck, this airport probably has a service hangar capable of handling these aircraft types and make them airworthy again, so I expect that the airline might find it more economical to ship an entire maintenance team with spare parts to be based out of here for a month or so while they get their planes back in the air.

cromka 7y ago
Since the procedures require such extensive checks after those dormant planes' return to service, wouldn't you say that once all of them become airborne again, statistically speaking the risk of catastrophic failures is going to increase? I am afraid well see some accidents end of this year...
- hef19898 7y ago
  That's not likely. The checks to get the grounded aircraft back in air are quite extensive. And similar checks are regularly conducted under normal conditions anyway. It might even be the case that we see less accidents, as more aircraft are getting extensive checks than before. As long as maintenance is done correctly that is. Which was true before already as well

takinola 7y ago

I once met a bunch of guys at Graceland that had just flown in a jet for delivery for Fedex. They fly in the plane and then fly commercial back home.