Piccola intervista ad un nostro collega SFO sul B747 riguardo le operazione del 747 a TXL.
Race against time
Lufthansa flies with jumbo jets between Frankfurt and Berlin. Senior First Officer Maximilian Claudio Reuter talks about the operational challenges
In order to meet the current unusually high demand for tickets from Berlin to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS are replacing the scheduled short-haul aircraft with wide-body aircraft for individual flights at short notice. The aircraft enlargements for this period are not the only measures taken by the airlines in the Lufthansa Group. In September, Lufthansa had already decided to deploy a Boeing 747-400 from Frankfurt to Berlin in November for the busiest hours of the day. The jumbo has been invited to Tegel more than 60 times. The operation of the jumbo jets between Berlin-Tegel and Frankfurt/Main is initially scheduled for 30 November.
Maximilian Claudio Reuter is Senior First Officer at Lufthansa and has been flying for the company for eleven years. So far he has completed 8500 flying hours, on the Boeing 747-400 it is about 2600 flying hours. Since 2 November, he has been flying the Jumbojet several times between Berlin and Frankfurt/Main together with flight captain Andreas Heyen. Read the interview that the Berliner Morgenpost sent him to read about it here.
Berliner Morgenpost: Berlin-Tegel is not on the list of global airports. Do you have to prepare yourself for take-offs and landings due to the size of the airport?
SFO Reuter: Of course, we prepare ourselves intensively for these flights, as before each flight, for approach procedures and landing conditions. However, Tegel Airport is very well equipped for instrument approaches, both in terms of runways and radio beacons. The challenges will be more likely to lie in handling procedures.
Berliner Morgenpost: Are there airports of comparable size worldwide that Lufthansa flies to with a Boeing 747?
SFO Reuter: In some cases, Lufthansa also flies to airports that are about the same size as Tegel. For example, Buenos Aires in Argentina. However, there is not the same amount of traffic as in Tegel, which makes the use in Tegel a bit more exciting.
Berliner Morgenpost: What is the approach speed at which you will approach Tegel?
SFO Reuter: The approach and landing speeds depend on the respective approach weight. A common approach speed is around 150 knots, i. e. about 280 kilometers per hour. This applies to a landing weight of 260 tonnes, i. e. approximately three times the maximum take-off weight of an Airbus A321, the model normally used on this route.
Berliner Morgenpost: What is the size of the crew of the jumbo you will be flying to Tegel with?
SFO Reuter: Apart from Captain Andreas Heyen and myself as First Officer, there is a purser and 13 other flight attendants on board who take care of the safety and well-being of the approximately 300 passengers.
Berliner Morgenpost: Is the short ground time of about 50 minutes a challenge for the pilots?
SFO Reuter: The ground time of 50 minutes is very ambitious for an aircraft of this size. But we are doing everything in our power to keep this time. For example, the fuel for the return flight from Tegel is already being taken on board in Frankfurt. This saves time on the ground in Tegel, since no time-consuming refuelling of the equipment, which is rare here, is necessary.
Berliner Morgenpost: How many minutes is the net flight time with the 747-400 from Frankfurt to Berlin?
SFO Reuter: The net flight time is strongly dependent on the amount of traffic and the winds on the respective flight day. However, it is likely to be between five and ten minutes shorter than with an Airbus A320 Family aircraft, as the B747-400 is a long-haul aircraft with a higher cruising speed. With a good 900 kilometres per hour, the Jumbo is about 60 kilometres per hour faster than an A321, and the net flight time will probably be around 45 minutes.
Berliner Morgenpost: Do you take over the plane in Frankfurt or do you come from a long distance?
SFO Reuter: We take over the plane in Frankfurt and fly back and forth between Berlin and Frankfurt twice on this day. In the evening, the plane then returns to the long-haul route, for example to America or the Far East.
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The challenge: Turnaround in 50 minutes
Since the turning around of a 747 in an intercontinental operation takes more than 50 minutes, the ground ops team has knitted special handling procedures. In order to comply with the Minimun Ground Time (MinGT), processes were adapted and additional functions implemented. The B747 is cleaned by a double crew - in just 40 minutes. To do this, three service stairs are positioned on the aircraft instead of the usual two. The LSG has less time to load the jumbo on short distance and another LSG colleague is needed. An additional turnaround coordinator in FRA has an overview of the front side of the field holds the threads together. Changing from Kont to Intercont and vice versa makes positioning more difficult, since intercontent aircraft positions are normally required in FRA. And also a gate with 350 waiting guests looks different than with 180 passengers.... For the Ground Ops processes in Berlin Lufthansa has delegated Ops' agent Alisan Elis from FRA to TXL for the next few weeks. He supervises and coordinates all services provided on the 747 during ground time. For the 40-year-old, the 747-400 is a stroke of luck in Berlin: "I'm a typical Berlin boy and I'm very happy to be in Berlin again for a longer period of time." He learned service management for air traffic in Tempelhof for three years before moving to FRA in 2003.
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