The Many Plates an Airline Has to Spin

I’ve worked in the airline industry most of my life and in various capacities.  I’ve done every job people normally think of except pilot, flight attendant and mechanic.  (I did interview for a flight attendant job many years ago but was disqualified due to my eyesight.)  What follows are some of the things that must happen in order for you to fly on a commercial flight.

1  The schedule must be made.  

I once interviewed for a position in this area but was not successful.  Now that I deal with it more, I see what a nightmare it must be to create it.  It is more than merely picking times for a flight to operate between an origin and destination.  They must also consider which aircraft to use.  Airlines want to make money so they want the planes to operate full.   Is it better to operate a plane with 200 seats that normally fills 160 of them or fly one with 150 seats?  Also, there are crew considerations.  Some international destinations require additional crewmembers.  Some other ones even require crew rest facilities.  (Yes, in some of those planes there are pilots and flight attendants relaxing above you.)  Therefore, the schedule is tied to ship, crew and other considerations.  

2 A maintenance schedule

Like your car, airplanes have regularly scheduled items that must be done on a regular basis.  That includes changing the oil.  Most things on your car are counted down by miles or days/months/years.  It is similar with airplanes, except they counted by days, cycles and hours flown.  A takeoff and landing equals one cycle.  There is typically some type of work done on an airplane every time it lays over in a maintenance base.  Many of the items are simple and can be done in a short period of time.  Other things are more time consuming and require coordinating resources.  If you know you have 5 planes that will require the landing gears to be replaced over the next year, you need to set aside time in a hanger capable of jacking up the plane.  Often, they are scheduled back to back and the mechanics who work on them we be more familiar with the process each time.  I’m not saying the mechanics need this familiarity but is certainly can’t hurt. 

Of course, once the plane is in the hanger and every unneeded item is removed, the plane is jacked up and the landing gears are removed.  I trust it goes without saying the plane is not moving while in this state.  Since hanger space is limited, it is precious.  This is why a robust hanger and maintenance planning system is vital. 

3  There must be a system to get the plane to that hanger

How do you know where a plane will layover every night?  What has to happen in order for Ship 101 to be in Kalamazoo on March 13^th for the gear change?  First, the plane is assigned to flights every day based on the flight schedule.  Based on the flight schedule, it will layover in Duluth, MN, Columbus, OH and Sacramento, CA on March 11^th, 12^th and 13^threspectively.  Of course, that is not where we want it.  What do we do to get it into Kalamazoo on the 13th?  At some point, the plane will be in the same station with another plane.  It is a matter of changing the flights they will both take out of that city.  Sometimes, it will require a couple more swaps with more airplanes and maybe even on different days but I trust you get the idea.

These a just a few of the many things that must happen in order for you to enjoy your commercial flight.  I hope to share more in the future. 

A Heart of Red

In fields of war

There is no star

Above the dead

Whose hearts have bled

Here I lie

About to die

I want to live

I’ve more to give

What will you do?

With news you get

I dream of you

I’m in your debt

Image in hand

Memories scanned

My life bleeds on

And soon I’m gone

I see a light

Piercing the night

A heart of red

That warms the dead

Onward I’m drawn

Toward the dawn

I leave this life

And all the strife

My one desire

To feel your skin

But I hear the choir

Their draw from within

My moments wane

My dear sweet Jane

I love you so

But now I go

© 2016 Duane Windell Phillips

The Big Move

16 years ago today, I moved from Lake Worth, FL to the Atlanta, GA area to start a new job.  How well I remember getting into the car that cool morning.  Everything within me fought to stay.  My wife and I made the choice about a month earlier.  We prayed about it and sought counsel.  We believed this was the step to make but a decision and an action are two very different things.  That morning was the first price I paid to make the move. 

I remember being a little fearful of the unknown.  I also had some trepidation at not knowing how often I would see my family.  I hoped it would be every weekend but I wasn’t sure at that moment.  Finally, how long would it be before we sold the house and the family could also move?  

I thought about the plant I purchased for my wife a couple weeks before.  A smile came to my face.  I gave it to her saying it was a way for her to remember me.  It was dead a couple days before I did the big drive.  I still like telling that story.  What are you trying to say, honey?

I look back now and acknowledge God knew what He was doing.  I know we were comfortable in Florida but we all needed to grow.  I still need to after 16 years.  Kids here get their license to drive at that age.  Then they really start growing.  Maybe we will “really start growing” now. 

Stories

When Brittany Madison Payne was in high school, her father told her she couldn’t date until she was a senior…..citizen.  Due to her father’s sense of humor, Brittany knew he wasn’t serious.  He also advised she should marry a man whose surname began with the letter W.  That way her initials would be BMW, like the automobile.  Little did he know she would one day marry Joe West. 

Brittany was always thin.  However, after her third child in just under three years, she gained a lot of weight and was never able to return to the body of her youth.  She was not pleased the time her parents came to visit and her father remarked BMW stood for Big Mamma West.  Joe and the children laughed.  Brittany seethed and was secretly angry about the comment.

When her father was on his death bed, which was only 2 short years later, Brittany realized the foolishness of harboring such feelings in her heart.  She let them go.  As they spoke one night, Brittany was reminded of how her father used to tell her and her siblings stories about his life.  She mentioned these special times and he smiled. 

“You and your brothers loved hearing stories probably more than when we would read you books.”

“Yeah.”

“I remember how you guys would laugh whenever I talked about times when I was very young.  I guess it was hard for you to believe I was once little like you were.  My family always told us stories.  They always meant a lot to me so I wanted to do the same for you.  I hope you are doing that with my grandbabies.”

“Not really but it is a good thing to start doing.  They aren’t too old yet.”

“Too old?  The baby is just getting out of her terrible 2’s and Jason is knocking on 6.  They are still babies.  They’d love to hear about you when you were little.  The kind of life Joe had?  I bet he has all kinds of stories for them.  Those little ones gotta know where they come from.  Tell em!  Tell em over and over.”

Brittany promised to do so.  Seven months after her father died, it would have been his birthday.  That night she made the kids lie in bed and told them she had a story to share.

“A long time ago, there was a little girl named Brittany Madison Payne and she was a skinny, happy little girl.”  The oldest child, who was lying next to the youngest, rolled onto his side to face her and the two of them giggled.  The other added his laughter.  Brittany smiled as she continued, “Her father, Marshall Payne, used to tell his children stories about their past.”  The middle child interrupted, “Where they true stories?”

“Of course.  When he put his children down to sleep, he would ask them what kind of story they wanted to hear.  He would make up stories on the spot if they were make believe.  Otherwise, the true stories were true and were very important.  That was so his children would know where they came from and it would help shape who they were. 

“When Brittany became a grown up and had little boys and a girl of her own, she decided she needed to start sharing stories with her children.  She realized she was Big Momma West.  She was big because her heart grew with each baby she had.  It had to grow since she had so much love to give to her children.  It filled her whole body.”