SHUT DOWN, TURN AROUND

The end of the f1ight often isn't the end of the working day for an airplane. Many planes make four or five trips a day, with an hour on the ground between f1ights. During this hour, the passengers disembark, their luggage is unloaded, the aircraft is cleaned, refueled, supplied with in-fIight meals, and then reloaded.

What happens if you reduce a one-hour turnaround to 40 minutes? The plane may be able to make six or seven f1ights in a day. That of course, means more income forthe airplane.

Does this mean forcing ground staft to work more quickly? Not necessarily. Research shows that the most time can be gained or lost in the reboarding processo It might seem obvious that loading a plane from back to front would be the quickest way. However, a study by Boing found that loading from window to aisle significantly reduced boarding time and made turnaround quicker. Now many airplanes have adopted this practice, and turnaround times are on decrease.

Reduced turnaround times can cause problems, however. Small delays early in the day can make a whole series offlights run late. And of course quicker turnaround means more traffic and therefore busier airports.

Fonte: Sue Ellis, Terence Gerighty. English for Aviation: for pilots and traffic controllers. Oxford Business English.

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