V-Flyer

I was reading a topic on pprune and it seemed like the 747 flight crew had to position around the Carribean. Is this really the case or do they fly into San Juan for example and stay there for the entire week?

Also seemed as if one a/c type was preffered over the other but couldnt really tell who flew what! Guess thats not a new thing though. Back in the old days when you were allowed flight deck visits on a regular basis, i remember the crew of a 747-400 telling me how great that plane was and then the crew of and A340-300 telling me that their plane was much better!

I'd be surprised say at SJU that the crew spent a whole week ... and suspect but do not know that VS would indeed fly them to another island to rotate with crew on other flights. Seven days is a long time and a lot of money.

As to aeroplane types, I imagine it's like Porsche or a Ferrari owners arguing with each other, both are fantastic but they'll find differences!

Total turnaround time in SJU - about two hours.

Yes I've chatted to a pilot on a 744 about a flight to Shanghai to hear him say "bloody Airbus rubbish", and then to a pilot on a Shanghai flight saying "these planes are the best in the fleet by far".

Tinkerbelle wrote:Total turnaround time in SJU - about two hours.

So do the crew go back to Antigua over night then back to LGW or go elsewhere?

And what is the maximum stay for the crew in the Carribean?

jwhite9185 wrote:

Tinkerbelle wrote:Total turnaround time in SJU - about two hours.

So do the crew go back to Antigua over night then back to LGW or go elsewhere?

And what is the maximum stay for the crew in the Carribean?

Crew movements is a sensitive issue, we tend not to post on public forums their hotels, or details of specific movements - because there are odd people out there.

If one of our CC friends answers, that'll let you know this particular question is on the right side of the line!

Not really after specific info... just a general wondering really! As i said, the thread on pprune got me wondering how it all works.

Im guessing the crew that does a BGI flight returns the following day as thats daily, but the rest of the Carribean is a mix and match and the crew are sent where theyre needed.

Also, along the same lines would a crew fly out to MCO from LGW and back to MAN then to MCO and back to LGW - sort of like the aircraft do?

jwhite9185 wrote:Also, along the same lines would a crew fly out to MCO from LGW and back to MAN then to MCO and back to LGW - sort of like the aircraft do?

I believe that Virgin operate London (both airports) as one base and Manchester as a seperate base for crew. Therefore, with schedules running as normal, crew on a MCO flight would return back to the UK base they departed from a day or two later.

Virgin rotate the LGW/MAN fleet aircraft in Orlando as it is a sensible place to do this - with anything between 2 and 5 daily flights depending on the season. Swap the planes there to ensure aircraft return to LGW when needed for planned checks/work to take place.

jwhite9185 wrote:Im guessing the crew that does a BGI flight returns the following day as thats daily

Not neccessarily but I'm not posting any trip patterns on here.

Well having looked at the timetable on the VS website and seeing what flights are operated on what days, i think i see how it works!

All those Carribean destinations with just 3 a/c by the looks of it!

Until one goes tech

jwhite9185 wrote:Well having looked at the timetable on the VS website and seeing what flights are operated on what days, i think i see how it works!

All those Carribean destinations with just 3 a/c by the looks of it!

Its complicated for sure. However as some members will attribute to its not uncommon to see crew of international airlines deadheading on certain routes or indeed to find crew of international airlines on the intra Caribbean flights, certainly I have been on one such flight with crew from what was then AMM who had operated into ANU on say a Monday but rather than spend a week in ANU with their feet up where actually transferring to BGI to operate the flight back on the Wed.