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Icelandic Airline Wow Air Collapses and Cancels all Flights:
Iceland's low cost carrier Wow Air has canceled all flights and told passengers to book with other airlines.
Its website has a travel alert that begins: "Wow Air has ceased operation. All Wow Air flights have been canceled."
The alert said people who wanted to travel should now look for "so-called rescue fares" which may now be offered by rival airlines.
Wow added that those who made bookings by credit card or via a European travel agent should try to get their money back through those businesses. It said some passengers may be entitled to compensation from the airline itself.
[...] The company's model was to entice passengers with ultra-low prices before slapping on extra charges for seat selection, baggage, leg room and expensive refreshments. A typical base fare for a Wow flight from the U.S. to Europe could come in at less than $200.
A fall in tourist visits to Iceland and rising fuel costs had been cited as headwinds to profitability.
The airline had also suffered poor customer reviews and was particularly criticized over recurring delays.
You don't always get what you pay for, but you generally do not get what you do not pay for.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 31 2019, @02:05AM (1 child)
FAA rules are fuel to get to your destination, then to divert to another qualified destination, and then 45 minutes on top of that. That's to take off, not to land; if you land with less than your 45 minutes of reserve it's not a problem, it's what the reserve is for. Individual airlines have their own operating rules, though, and might require pilots to report (internally, not to the FAA) landing with less than 45 minutes of fuel on board.
There is not any particular distinction between holding pattern reserve fuel and whatever other reserve fuel. Aircraft spend less time in holding patterns than they used to due to improved navigation and ATC technology and more direct flights rather than hub-and-spoke, and ATC will prioritize aircraft for landing that are at risk of running out of fuel. Generally, the reserve fuel is needed in case you waste time deciding to divert (pilots might choose to make multiple landing attempts before diverting), in case your fuel consumption is higher than expected (either because of incorrect fuel management, poor engine performance, routing changes, or unfavorable winds), or whatever other unexpected reason might cause you to use extra fuel.
It's common to carry more fuel than the bare minimum. Generally, it depends on how expensive fuel is at the destination relative to how expensive it is to carry it with you from the origin. Some places fuel is just more expensive, but it also depends on the specific deals airlines make for fuel. Even pilots of small single-engine planes can save money buying fuel in bulk at their home airport, airlines save much more.
It's the pilot's choice how much fuel to take (within the operating limits of the aircraft, of course) however airlines generally pressure pilots to carry less fuel, not more, especially when flying from an expensive location to a cheaper one. Having, once or twice, gotten below the 45 minute reserve limit, it's really not a comfortable feeling. It seems like half an hour should be plenty of time to find a place to land, but it's not always. Among small aircraft, running out of fuel is the #1 cause of in-flight power loss. The pilot's fuel management, in general, is far less reliable than the engines are. Even airliners have run out of fuel (search for "Gimli Glider"), in that case as a result of a pilot-training failure that is somewhat reminiscent of the current problems with the 737.
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Sunday March 31 2019, @08:38AM
Thanks for the clarification and description of FAA practice.
For those interested here are a couple of articles: one on ICAO practice from Aviation stackExchange:
Aviation StackExchange: What are the ICAO fuel reserve requirements? [stackexchange.com]
and one from Skybrary:
Skybrary: Fuel - Regulations [skybrary.aero]
The latter references EASA SIB 2018-08 [skybrary.aero] which details and clarifies the specific phraseology that should be used when a pilot informs Air Traffic Control of a lack of fuel:
MINIMUM FUEL - you will land with less than the final reserve
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY FUEL - the pilot believes that the lack of fuel is an emergency situation.