Latest news with #JonNYC
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
American Airlines Diverts Flight After Significant Mistake
American Airlines appeared to make a pretty significant mistake this week when the plane it sent on an international flight from Philadelphia to Naples, Italy, was too big to land at the airport and had to be diverted. American Airlines flight 780 departed Philadelphia at 7:42 p.m. and was slated to land in Naples, Italy, at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday after the transatlantic flight. However, that's not what happened. When the flight was about 70 miles away from Naples International Airport, the plane was suddenly diverted north to Rome Fiumicino Airport. The reason for the diversion, as an article from Business Insider explained, was that American Airlines flew a slightly different version of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that was slightly too big to land in Naples. As Business Insider explained, American Airlines typically flies a 787-8 to Naples, which is small enough to land at an airport with a Category 8 RFFS. However, this time, American flew a 787-9, which is about 20 feet longer than the 787-8 and needs a Category 9 RFFS airport. Naples International Airport is Category 8 RFFS, meaning the 787-9 was unable to land at the airport. An aviation enthusiast, who goes by the handle of @JonNYC was the first to report the incident, and he confirmed that 787-9 does not have approval by the airport to land. American Airlines issued a statement on the incident to Business Insider, confirming that the plane was diverted to Rome 'due to operational limitations.' After landing at Rome Fiumicino Airport around 9:45 a.m., passengers were then transported to Naples by bus, a spokesperson for the airline told Business Insider. "We apologize to them for this disruption to their journey," the airline said in a statement. Needless to say, it seems like the airline made a pretty signicifant mistake. American Airlines Diverts Flight After Significant Mistake first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 8, 2025
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
American Airlines Makes Concerning Decision on Flight Attendants: Report
For anyone taking a flight, whether it's a domestic or international flight, having a great staff of flight attendants can make a big difference. Having some friendly faces on the flight to help with little things just goes a long way. Now, a new report states that American Airlines has paused hiring flight attendants for summer 2025, due to economic concerns in the United States. American Airlines, which is headquartered at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, seems to be "responding to changing market conditions as business travel spending decreases and leisure travel faces potential cutbacks from cost-conscious consumers," according to Aviation A2Z. "Consumers see most leisure travel as discretionary," adds Gary Leff of View from the Wing. "There's been some pullback in airline schedules, and some lower fares in the market." The report comes from aviation watchdog JonNYC, who sent out some messages about the matter on Bluesky. "Not confirmed but from generally reliable person," he said in an April 1 post. "Apparently AA is suspending/pausing all flight attendant hiring and training for the entire summer due to travel demand uncertainty." He added, "I'd say it's def true that: - some are saying they received emails saying that all face to face interviews and training classes for the summer are being paused/pushed to later in the fall." According to Aviation A2Z, "The slowdown comes as multiple indicators suggest reduced demand for air travel. Businesses are trimming travel budgets, consumers are reconsidering discretionary spending on leisure trips, and airlines have begun scaling back flight schedules in some markets." So, if you're flying this summer on American Airlines, don't be surprised if you see fewer new flight attendants. It's worth noting, of course, that American Airlines has not released an official statement on the matter yet.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
The curious case of the Boeing plane that diverted four times in 25 days
Credit: FlightAware An American Airlines Boeing 787 aircraft has diverted four times in four different cities within just 25 days, sparking debate among online aviation sleuths. The recurring incidents were flagged on the social media platform Bluesky, by an account under the name JonNYC, who wrote: 'If I'm getting the full picture, this 787 has had an incredibly bad month or so – not quite like much I've really seen before. Diversions, aborted take-offs, out of service.' On closer investigation, it does appear that the plane, a 787-8 Dreamliner with the registration code N819AN, has indeed had a thoroughly eventful 25 days. And thanks to online flight-tracking services like FlightRadar24 and Flight Aware, we can piece together the exact movements of the aircraft. Let's take a look at what we know about the four diversions of N819AN between Jan 7 and Feb 1, and try to answer the following question: why does the same plane keep taking off and aborting its journey not long after? The first issue with N819AN occurred on Tuesday, Jan 7, 2025. The plane was due to depart from Amsterdam Schiphol at 1.05 pm but ended up taking off at 2.46 pm. After taking off, the pilot made a northeasterly turn just eight minutes into the flight, performed an elaborate holding pattern (presumably to dump fuel in the North Sea) before landing at Schiphol at 4.16 pm. According to it was met by emergency vehicles on the runway. Three days after its first diversion, N819AN successfully completed its 7hr 18m flight to Philadelphia. It landed at 6.30 pm with a scheduled 3hr 30m turnaround, after which it was due to return across the Atlantic to Dublin. However, after taking off at 10.17 pm, the plane performed a 180-degree turn 18 minutes into the flight. It landed back in Philadelphia at 11.12 pm. Three days later, on Jan 13, N819AN successfully made it to Barcelona. However, the following day its flight to Philadelphia was cancelled. Then, on Jan 19, on a scheduled flight back across the Atlantic to Philadelphia, the plane once again diverted. The plane took off at 2.05 pm and appeared to begin its return to Barcelona Airport just 11 minutes into the flight. It landed at 2.39 pm. On Jan 23, N819AN landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International, where American Airlines has a maintenance hangar. The aircraft remained at Dallas for seven days, before completing four successful flights (to Philadelphia, to Madrid, back to Philadelphia and then to Zurich). Things were looking up. Or were they? On Feb 1, N819AN took off from Zurich at 10.39 am but started its return to the airport after just seven minutes of the flight. It landed back at Zurich Airport 45 minutes later, at 11.24 am. Usually, a plane diversion occurs due to harsh weather conditions. However, pilots may also divert due to medical emergencies, security threats, natural disasters, incidents at the arrival airport, or mechanical issues. It is not clear why these four flights were diverted – The Telegraph awaits a response on this matter from American Airlines and Boeing. Here's what we do know: N819AN (a 787-8 Dreamliner) first flew on March 27 2017, making it nearly eight years old. Online sources suggest that American Airlines' fleet has an average age of between 12 and 13 years old, so N819AN is by no means poised for retirement in the near future. We also have some further (unverified) details courtesy of Simon Hradecky, a software developer who founded the website The Aviation Herald, which tracks aircraft incidents around the world. On Jan 9, commenting on the Amsterdam diversion, he posted: 'The crew announced an issue with the flaps so they needed to return to Amsterdam. The flight was postponed to the next day as flight AA-9605, but could not depart with the crew announcing a hydraulic leak.' Trying to make sense of the situation, pilot Brian Smith, who flew Boeing aircraft for commercial airlines over a 26-year period, explains why the recurring diversions could be cause for concern. 'It's unusual for an aircraft to experience so many technical diversions in such a short space of time. If the same defect keeps recurring, that is a cause for concern, because it implies that the engineering department is unable to definitively identify the root cause of the problem,' says Smith. 'A diversion in flight is a decision made by the captain after all checklists have been completed, and options discussed with the co-pilot; it is necessarily a collaborative process. Checklists follow a logical series of steps to determine the fault, isolate the defective system and if necessary, direct the crew to 'Plan to land at the nearest suitable airfield' in the case of a serious issue. 'In the vast majority of cases, faults are rectified satisfactorily and there is a clear paper trail that describes what rectification has been carried out. Some defects are deemed 'acceptable' when they do not have any discernible impact on the safety of flight and any maintenance and operational procedures required are adhered to. 'Defects that recur often require deeper fault finding to find the problem, but this is rare. Modern aircraft have extensive Built in Test Equipment (BITE) which can give in-depth clues to what is wrong. Sometimes it's a computer or sensor that is playing up. In older aircraft there may be something like a chafed wire or connector; the possibilities are myriad. On the topic of flaps defects, Smith says: 'Flap defects are uncommon, and rarely present a serious problem. If however, they won't retract, a diversion will be needed because the drag of the extended flap will create a fuel penalty, making a longer flight implausible. All aircraft remain fully controllable even with the most complex of flap defects. 'The aircraft in question clearly needs to be examined very thoroughly and should not be released again until the fault is rectified. This might even trigger a test flight or series of flights, without passengers, to prove its airworthiness. I am sure the airline will do what is right in this case and passengers should not be unduly concerned.' As of Feb 4, aircraft N819AN remains on the runway at Zurich Airport. The Telegraph will keep an eye on developments, and will update this page as and when we receive a response from American Airlines or Boeing. If you wish to track the aircraft's movements yourself, you can do so by following this page on Flight Aware. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
