How much does an airplane diversion cost?

by Grant Martin on

Lately we’ve been reading tons of stories about unruly passengers getting intoxicated on aircraft, making a ruckus and causing flights to make emergency landings.

Whether they got tanked and tried to open the emergency exit mid-flight, drank too much in first class and ran around naked or struck a flight attendant with a bottle of vodka, drunken passengers have been all over the place this summer, and their unscheduled route changes are costing the airlines hoards of money.

Diverting an aircraft isn’t as easy as finding the closest runway and pointing the aircraft in that direction. Depending on where you are in your journey, you may be severly overweight for landing — with too much fuel in your tanks it takes a lot of work on the brakes to stop the aircraft — and if you wear them too far or even get them too hot they need to be inspected or replaced. So unless it’s an emergency, most airlines opt to either circle and burn up fuel or dump it into the atmosphere prior to landing, a measure that’s both detrimental to costs and the environment.

Additionally, many airlines charge landing fees to put an aircraft down on their soil, regarldess or whether or not there is an emergency.

Crew work hours and rest also play into the picture when diverting. If a pilot or flight attendant goes over time while your flight is on the ground you can’t take off with that person onboard.

Finally, the few hours on the ground affect the passengers and their connections at the destination. Should the aircraft get in three hours late, half of the connecting passengers missed their connection and need to be rebooked at the expense of the airline.

To get an idea of how much it costs to divert an aircraft, we asked our resident pilot, Kent Wien about what goes into the affair. He says:

“The diversion costs can be staggering when the crew runs out of duty time. So if they exceed their 8 hours of flying time that day (for a two man crew) or their 16 hour duty day (FAA regs, the individual airlines may have contracts the bring that number down) they’re pumpkins. And then you have to find hotels and other means of transportation for the passengers.

I’ve been told it can cost $200,000 for a widebody to divert. But the best case scenario–land, pick up fuel, and depart immediately– would easily cost $10,000 in extra fuel burned.”

To that end, many airlines who have been forced to divert recently are now starting to sue the passengers causing the divert to recoup their extra landing fees. Try to keep that in mind next time you get drunk before a flight — it’s better to pass out and drool all over yourself then get into a fight and smacked with a $10,000 bill from your airline.

Google Street View captures a proud moment for one Aussie

by Meg Massie on

Since its launch in May of 2007, Google Street View has been a source of controversy. The Google feature offers web surfers 360° street-level views around hundreds of cities worldwide. Some of the photos, taken by a car-mounted video camera, have captured some personal moments, like people entering adult book stores, leaving strip clubs, picking their noses, and entering buildings with questionable methods.

Critics claim that posting photos of these things on the internet is a privacy violation. But Google’s not breaking any laws. All the photos are taken in public places, and the company has even taken steps to decrease its questionable content, from blurring faces to allowing users to flag photos that may be inappropriate.

The latest Street View gem comes from the new Australian Street View. There, cameras caught a young man passed out drunk on his front lawn. The man claims he’d been drinking all weekend after the death of his best mate. While he knows what he did was dumb, he wasn’t pleased when the photo was posted for the whole world to see. Amid the controversy, Google removed the image from its Street View page.

Remember — just because there’s not a crowd around you, that doesn’t mean you have privacy when you’re out in the open. You may laugh now, but just wait until Google’s cameras come to your town…

Official report encourages drunken British traveler stereotype

by Anna Brones on

While staying with a friend’s family in Barcelona last year I was shocked when they told me about the stereotypical British traveler often talked about in Spanish media.

“They [British travelers] come down on cheap flights and they don’t even make hotel reservations,” said my friend’s father.
“You mean they sleep on the street?”
“No, they just stay out drinking all night and once morning comes they just take a nap on a bench. No need to pay for a hotel I guess.”

He pointed out that obviously not every British traveler behaved in this manner, yet it was unfortunate, because it gave all of them — even those with hotel reservations — a bad name. But apparently he wasn’t all that wrong. According to the annual “British Behaviour Abroad” report by the Foreign Office, excessive drinking has led to the increase in arrests of Brits traveling abroad. In Spain for example, arrests have gone up by 32% to 2,032 in the period reported.

With a powerful British pound, drinking in other countries doesn’t make a huge impact on the average Brit’s wallet, so holidays can easily turn into drinking days. In response to the report, the British tabloid the Daily Mail pointed out that “drunken and loutish holidaymakers have sent Britain’s reputation abroad plunging to new depths.” Again, we should not stereotype — I have met many Brits while traveling that don’t behave in such a manner — but maybe it’s time to consider whether or not to down that last pint. You don’t want to get arrested…

One too many: Drunk flight attendant causes six hour flight delay

by Anna Brones on

I’ve heard of drunk passengers causing problems on flights — an acquaintance of mine recently wasn’t even allowed to board a plane because he had a little too much fun at the airport bar — but I’ve never heard of a flight attendant throwing back a few too many. Until now.

On Sunday a BMI holiday flight of 140 passengers, set to fly from Aberdeen, Scotland to Faro, Portugal, was delayed for six hours while the crew tried to find a replacement for a 24 year old flight attendant who had shown up to work intoxicated. The flight was scheduled to depart at 9am but was delayed when the attendant’s fellow crew members were concerned about her state and called the police. The police arrived at the scene and after a a failed breathalyzer test, arrested the woman.

Drunk flight attendant jokes just seem too easy. I mean, just imagine what the pre-takeoff security demonstration would have been like; those airplane seat belts are complicated enough when you’re sober. But still, it seems that maybe the woman had just a little too much fun the night before, and instead of a hungover day serving snacks, now she has to deal with the police. Bad luck.

Other stories of debauch in the skies


Drunken Swedish elk attacks toddler

by Anna Brones on

Having lived in Scandinavia, I love stories that involve moose or elk, and with so many running around the northern country, it’s not hard to find them. The animals sometimes do weird things, like run amok on subways. But today’s bit of Scandinavian news is even weirder; it involves a drunken elk.

Just outside of Gothenburg, a three year old was playing in her sandbox when a young elk walked up to her and bit her on the arm. The elk was apparently drunk after having consumed a few too many yeasted apples and after biting the young girl stumbled away from the backyard.

Elk roaming into residential areas isn’t uncommon, but inebriated ones are. Something to keep in mind during your next trip to Scandinavia.