Why am I landing in Brussels instead of Paris? Not enough fuel

by Karen Fawcett on January 27, 2009

Dear powers that be:

I am writing to protest my recent trip between Washington/Dulles and Paris, France.

My United MileagePlus account was credited with one segment and 3,861 miles. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Because there wasn’t enough fuel on board due to weather conditions, we were forced to make an unscheduled stop in Brussels. Rather than landing 30 minutes early as the Captain announced upon take-off less than six hours before, we landed in Paris approximately two hours after our scheduled arrival time.

I recognize things are tight at United and another 1000 employees are being laid off. There will be additional cutbacks and times are tough.

But how much did that unscheduled stop cost? Weren’t there landing fees incurred with our Brussels visit? What did it cost to file an extra flight plan?

Rather than a non-stop Paris landing, the plane was forced to fly an extra leg. This dictates additional fuel, not to mention wear and tear on the plane and the passengers. And what about the turn-around time for the aircraft?

Was United forced to pay extra to the French workers who were responsible for the aircraft’s inspection and turn-around? I don’t know about the French aviation union but if it’s like other French unions, a rush job probably carries a premium.

The crew was angry and conveyed the feeling this wasn’t the first time they’d made an unscheduled stop. One mumbled the flight’s captain was none too happy.

It’s becoming clear that the potential of saving some money is more important than catering to those who have boarded the flight. The crew did its best to smile but was having a hellava time.

What would your reaction have been had you been on that flight? Can anyone calculate how much that unscheduled stop cost United? Is this the future of travel especially when it comes to US carriers?

Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis.

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Tagged as: air travel, cutbacks, Paris, united airlines

  • http://www.ffocus.org Bruce InCharlotte

    Interesting, but needs way more information. What was the reason announced for the unscheduled stop? Any comment from United? My geography may be off, but isn’t Brussels actually further away from Dulles than Paris?

  • SirWired

    I don’t think this was a case of attempted cost-cutting by United. Unfavorable weather conditions are a fact of life, and the forecasts for winds aloft are notoriously unreliable, especially over the ocean. This is compounded by the fact that weather in the middle of the Atlantic gets a bit less attention that weather where people actually live.

    Some trans-oceanic routes operate at the maximum of an aircraft’s range and sometimes this means that the flight must stop somewhere to pick up some gas.

    And yes, sometimes the flight dispatcher makes an incorrect judgment call and does not order enough fuel to complete the flight. Dispatchers are human, just like the rest of us. They have two conflicting goals: save money and gas by not overloading the plane with fuel AND make sure the flight arrives on-time.

    SirWired

  • mindy

    First, geography actually means very little in terms of air routing. The approach into Paris may require that flights come in from the southes\ast – even if they are coming from the Northeast of North America. Another example – there are some flights (actually many) from NYC and points north that fly south of National Airport (DCA) and then swing around to either the northwest or northeast to land there.

    I think the above makes it very clear that the “normal” fuel load that would have made it possible to land in Paris regardless of the weather was not loaded onto that plane. United was curring everything very close on fuel purchases for quite a while. It is very believable that they would be banking on not having weather or other problems that might force an early, alternative landing. They lost the bet that day.

  • Frank

    I’ve asked a very knowledgeable PILOT to come here and contribute. His posts and explanations are amazing.

    I hope he shows up here.

  • The man who notices things

    Sounds like the OP would rather go for a swim. I would have landed in Iceland instead of Brussels – fuel is dirt cheap to anyone who can pay – but then UA does not go to Iceland.

    Sounds like a lot fo whining here, One flight ends up a little tight on fuel and costs a few grand more and its the end of the world. Its not like you didn’t get to Paris.

    Would like some cheese with that whine?

  • http://www.bonjourparis.com Karen Fawcett

    To be certain there were reasons:

    When we departed, the Captain announced we would arrive in Paris early. I assume he had a flight plan. Please remember we were less than six hours away from our destination. As we approached Paris, he said we didn’t have sufficient fuel to land at CDG because of the weather — but that we could land at Orly. Orly is across the city from CDG/Roissy.

    It was then decided Brussels would be where we’d refuel as it’s a larger airport and it could be done more expediently.

    I’m no expert on calculating fuel needs. I am pretty good at listening and hearing that the entire crew, including the captain, was annoyed by having to detour. The plane was half empty so it wasn’t a question of the load factor.

    I’d be delighted to hear an explanation from United.

  • http://www.bonjourparis.com Karen Fawcett

    # On January 27th, 2009 at 2:22 pm Frank said

    I’ve asked a very knowledgeable PILOT to come here and contribute. His posts and explanations are amazing.

    I hope he shows up here.
    __________________________________

    Frank: I hope he shows up as well albeit liking wine with my cheese. I guess you had to be on the flight to hear and see how annoyed the flight crew was. As one said, he wasn’t being paid to fly an extra leg and many passengers were annoyed they were late for meetings.

  • http://www.musicetc.us Anne – Music and Markets

    This is a puzzle – keep us posted if you hear a reasonable explanation. Just doesn’t make sense. Now if they’d given you champagne while you waited those extra hours….

  • Frank

    On January 28th, 2009 at 5:01 pm Karen Fawcett said

    Frank: I hope he shows up as well albeit liking wine with my cheese. I guess you had to be on the flight to hear and see how annoyed the flight crew was. As one said, he wasn’t being paid to fly an extra leg and many passengers were annoyed they were late for meetings.
    ========================================================

    Crews are paid, when the aircraft moves. Taxi, take off and landing. They were being paid. I’m sure the crew was annoyed because they had been UP, awake, the entire night. This diversion increased their duty day and they were all tired. Technically, it’s in the middle of the night for them. This tread needs a PILOT”S perspective, not the usual whining and/or speculation many of these TRIPSO ARTICLES have. You would be lucky to have his perspective and knowledge of the industry.

    LARRY!……….You out there?

  • Larry A.

    I’m the pilot Frank mentioned. I hope I can live up to the press release. LOL

    There are two factors in play here; first, the change in weather that required a diversion for fuel; and second, the lack of fuel in the first place. Not knowing specifics about the flight, I have to speak in generalities.

    I assume it was a standard flight to Europe, meaning that the flight departed in the late hours of the day and was scheduled to arrive early in the morning. Despite being only 6 hours away, those are a critical 6 hours for weather forecasting. Early morning fog can be very unpredictable, and sometimes it just gets thicker in the morning than the night shift weather guys expected.

    So why not load up the jet with fuel just in case the weather is down? Tankering fuel is very expensive. You burn almost 1/3 of the extra fuel just to carry the weight. In an effort to save money all airlines are trimming the arrival fuel as much as possible. There is still a safe buffer, but in most cases it’s pretty close to the minimum. Your flight got diverted, but on average most flights get in. So the savings overall makes it worth it knowing some filghts will divert. You got caught in the law of averages.

    But that brings up the question; how much gas is on board when the Captain says we have to divert for fuel? By law there is at least a 45 minute reserve. (international flight can be more…it’s very complicated) It’s likely the Captain has calculated that he can get to the destination, fly an approach, fly to his alternate and fly an approach there. But now he needs an additional 45 minutes reserve.

    If the winds have cut into that 45 minute reserve, or a holding pattern is anticipated due to low fog, the decision to divert could be made for him because it’s just not legal to continue without enough fuel to meet those criteria. It’s possible the flight landed in BRU with two or more hours of fuel still on board. Driving your car you might squeeze a few more miles out to get to your destination on time, but in flight it just isn’t possible or prudent to burn to the last minute of fuel.

    I can’t even address the crew’s comments. After being up all night, I can imagine that an extended duty day isn’t welcome. Bu there’s no excuse for bringing those comments to the passengers. As a crewmember, it’s just part of the job.

  • http://www.bonjourparis.com Karen Fawcett

    Actually once we landed in Brussels, the food and drink carts were closed. The United personnel didn’t have the authorization to give anyone a cup of coffee.

    It’s a short flight between Brussels and Paris …..
    What took the longest was the refueling process and filing a new flight plan.

  • Frank

    On January 29th, 2009 at 4:20 am Karen Fawcett said Actually once we landed in Brussels, the food and drink carts were closed.
    ======================================================

    OK, I get a PILOT for a major airline to contribute to this site, and your reply to this post is about drinks?

    WT-HECK!!!!!!!!!!

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