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.