THE PASSENGERS “BILL OF RIGHTS"

THE PASSENGERS “BILL OF RIGHTS”

Long Distance Twinjets Hasten Arrival of Traveler Wishes

As an airline passenger, you expect safety, comfort, choice and the most direct routing possible

 Finding ways to meet those expectations has been a major goal for airlines, aircraft manufacturers and international regulatory agencies since the beginning of commercial flight. The International Airline Passengers Association gives these expectations a prominent place in its Passengers Bill of Rights.

The recent approval of the Boeing 777 to begin flying direct long-distance routes upon entry into commercial service signals that these expectations are finally within reach. At the approval ceremony in Seattle, Washington, David Stempler, executive director of the Passengers Association, praised the aircraft maker’s sensitivity to passenger concerns. Expressing special thanks to Boeing people who worked directly with passenger representatives during the airplane development program, he concluded, “With safety, comfort, economy and convenience, the Triple Seven does it all. We as passengers could not ask for more.”

The passengers Association was well aware that direct long-distance routing is essential to achieving many items on the Passengers Bill of Rights. But since the 1950s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has designated routes that venture beyond 60 minutes flying time from the nearest airport as extended-range twin-engine operations, or ETOPS, routes. Before the 777, airlines and airplane manufacturers were required to demonstrate a two-engine jet-liner’s reliability during months or years of commercial service in order to gain full ETOPS approval and access to the most direct long-distance routes.

Stempler’s enthusiasm for the new airplane and the FAA’s precedent setting approval were echoed through-out the industry. J.A. Donoghue, in the July issue of Air Transport World, summed it up, saying, “The entry into service of the Boeing 777... confirms the acceptance of ETOPS as not only a normal operation, but an essential operation.”

The Passengers Bill of Rights is a good way to see how direct routing for twinjets has become essential to the way the world travels. First is the demand for safety and comfort in air travel.

The hero of this story is the twinjet’s inherent reliability. It is a product of the modern jet engine, which has made commercial jetliners the world’s safest mode of transportation. As early as 1959, when the Boeing 707 opened the door of trans-Atlantic jet flight to large numbers of travelers, jet engines were already demonstrating much higher reliability than the piston engines used on large long-distance propeller planes of the day.

That reliability improved steadily with each new generation of engines, and continues to improve to this day. By the 1980’s, confidence in the reliability of modern jet engines was so strong that it was no longer considered a serious technological challenge to build a twinjet that could safely fly at distances of more than 60 minutes from an alternate airport on a single engine.

Consequently, the FAA developed criteria that would allow twinjets to fly beyond the 60 minute margin imposed on twin-engine piston-driven airplanes of the 1950’s. Acknowledging jet engine reliability, the criteria emphasize the reliability of other onboard systems, which are on all airplanes, not just twinjets. Electrical, hydraulic, fire suppression, and communication systems have all been improved to meet ETOPS standards.

The criteria also require airlines to demonstrate that airline training and maintenance programs meet the standards necessary for ETOPS flights. Though ETOPS certification requires an investment of time and resources, airlines have noticed that ETOPS maintenance and training procedures increase reliability.

So clear is the reliability improvement among ETOPS qualified airplanes, that United Airlines instituted ETOPS procedures for its whole fleet. According to Al Ogden, chief pilot of the United Airlines 757/767 fleet, “You may have to change your flight planning strategies,... train your mechanics better,... give more training to your pilots. But the payoffs affect the entire culture.... Your reward is the overall improvement of your entire operation, not just your ETOPS operation.”

Today, over 350 ETOPS flights depart from or arrive in the United States every day. One twinjet model, the Boeing 767, has logged more than a million flights in the 10 years since its approval to fly ETOPS routes.

As for comfort, modern twinjets offer the same comfort and conveniences as larger jetliners. In fact, the new Boeing 777, designed specifically for long-distance travel, offers passengers comfort and space that could previously be found only on a 747.

The second item on the Passengers Bill of Rights that relates to ETOPS is, “multiple choices of airlines, flight times, routings and levels of service.” ETOPS routing has increased the frequency of intercontinental flights as well as the number of international cities connected by air. Travelers have gained the freedom to choose routes, travel times and air carriers.

Twinjets set the precedent on domestic routes over a decade ago. Small twinjets allowed airliners to offer flights to and from many cities that might never have supported regular jet service by three or four engine jetliners. Twinjets also allowed airlines to test the waters of a new market. If twinjet service showed demand to be strong, the airline could either increase the frequency of twinjet service or begin using a larger airplane. As a result, many new routes were developed.

ETOPS extended these benefits to international and intercontinental travel. In the words of British Airways executive vice president of engineering and contracts, Barry Gosnold, “It allows us to serve routes that we know as ‘thin’ routes. On a 200 or 250 passenger route where, previously, we would have a 747 perhaps three or four times a week, we can now have a 767 daily, which of course, is very good to everybody that would want to travel on those routes.”

The improvement is plain to see. In 1978, before the FAA developed the ETOPS approval criteria, international travelers in the United States were forced to trek to one of nine gateway cities served by the three and four engine jetliners that were allowed to fly intercontinental routes. This was fine, if you happened to live in New York City or Los Angeles. It was not so good if you made your home in Denver or Atlanta.

The destinations available from these gateway cities were also limited. Only a select group of commercial centers could muster enough passengers to support regular three or four engine jetliner service. Some of the smaller ones could no support service by more than a single airline.

ETOPS routing has transformed the international travel picture. In the United States, the number of international departure cities has more than quadrupled. With them, the number of international destinations has blossomed, too. For example, Boeing twinjets connect more than 900 city pairs on North Atlantic routes alone. Airlines in the United States make more trans-Atlantic crossings with twinjets than with three and four engine airplanes combined. On the average, a Boeing twinjet departs on an ETOPS route somewhere in the world about every four minutes.

Addressing the third item on the Passengers Bill of Rights, ETOPS allows twinjets to travel the most direct and efficient long-distance routes. Before ETOPS, the 60 minute rule could force twinjets to fly hundreds of miles out of their way and prevent twinjet pilots from choosing the most efficient route. Many long-distance routes were therefore impractical or impossible for twinjets.

For example, the only North Atlantic crossing that stays within 60 minutes of an alternate airport is time-consuming and circuitous. North Atlantic travelers from the U.S. midlands were therefore forced to make connections - sometimes multiple connections - to a city served by three or four engine transcontinental jetliners. If the ultimate destination was not London or Paris, there could easily be more connections on the other end, as well.

To cite an extreme example, Air Seychelles twinjets flying between the popular Mahe Island vacation destination and Singapore were constrained to hug the coasts of the Indian subcontinent and Africa, stretching out the trip by more than 40 percent.

Such longer routes sometimes required intermediate stops that neither the passengers nor the airlines would choose to make. In any case, indirect routes mean travelers arrive tired and have a smaller choice of flights per day.

ETOPS routes are simpler and shorter, with fewer turns and waypoints. They also allow twinjet pilots to choose the most efficient route.

For example, a pilot flying a three engine DC-10 from London to Dallas chose a northern route to avoid severe headwinds on the southern tracks. The flight was completed in just over nine and half hours. A pilot flying a 767 twinjet, which is capable of virtually the same speed as the trijet, was required to follow the southerly track from Paris to Dallas. As a consequence, the twinjet took more than an hour longer to cover roughly the same distance as the trijet.

This was not an isolated instance. Two days later, a trijet on the northern track between Frankfurt and Chicago completed the trip in about 8 hours and 45 minutes. A twinjet flying from Dusseldorf to Chicago on the southern track had to fight strong headwinds most of the way and required more than 10 hours and 45 minutes to make the crossing.

When pilots can choose the most efficient flight plan, twinjets flights take no longer than comparable flights on three or four engines jets. ETOPS routing has allowed twinjets to realize their full potential.

Greater choice of flight plans also has a bearing on the passenger right to travel in safety and comfort. When twinjets were constrained to fly within 60 minutes of the nearest airport, there could often be segments of the flight during which there was only one alternate airport within the margin. A straighter route that stays within a 120 minute margin not only reduces flying time, but it can give the pilot of an ETOPS approved twinjet a choice of two or three alternate airports all along the way. A 180 minute margin can give the pilot even greater flexibility. Knowing their pilot has that many choices should contribute quite a bit to passenger comfort levels.

Approval of ETOPS for the Boeing 777 on the first day of service confirms that ETOPS reliability is no longer a technology issue. It is a design and testing process issue. The criteria developed in cooperation with airline, industry and passenger groups, and approved by the FAA and international regulatory agencies mean that ETOPS reliability and performance are not optional features to be retrofitted into twinjets after they enter service.

Rather, future twinjets will be designed and built to meet ETOPS requirements from the outset. This means more work and responsibility for manufacturers and airlines in the design, build and testing phases. But the benefits flow straight to passengers when airlines can offer frequent twinjet service, greater choice of destinations and more direct flights from day one.