Lufthansa A380 pilots were frustrated by a 17 minute wait for takeoff at SFO and told the departure controller they'd file a report. Were they right to complain?
Yes indeed. We Germans prefer not to be messed around with.
Ha- I landed at SFO in the night this happened and just saw that a380 sitting there waiting to depart. Funny.
If he's No.1 for takeoff and had to wait 17 mins, that sure seems like a pretty ineffecient use of runway. Busy single runway airports like LGW or BOM always intersperse takeoff and landing because that's how you maximize runway capacity.
Yep. Looks like 17 minutes as #1 for takeoff on 28R as per FlightRadar24. That's quite literally setting money on fire. I'd side with the pilots on this. That's extremely inefficient use of the runway.
Makes me wonder how often LH A380 pilots fly these days… it sounds to me like this pilot hasn’t been fully beaten down by the US ATC system recently
Without the benefit of the full story, I'd say he was delusional. What was the weather? What runways were in use? SFO is a crowded field and depending upon the weather not all runways are available. Were there wake turbulence issues that required further spacing of aircraft in line to land after he took off? Lots of unknowns here.
The Super should have priority. You’re setting €500 euro notes on fire every minute at that point. They might as well delayed starting their engines after pushback. I’m guessing they burned several thousand liters of gas well Ofcourse California is oblivious to economics.
Oh, I see your thinly-veiled right-wing trope (blue-state-bad) from a mile away. Has little to do with the state of California or its ‘policies’ (other than that this took place at SFO). The state is the WORLD’s fourth largest economy… so, it is you who are “oblivious”, D3King.
He was afraid he’d miss the night curfew by 17 seconds in Germany and then divert to an airport that has 24 hour operations….thats all.
To be honest - typical German arrogance
What is this, the Shinkansen? Psh, I’m an operational reliability hawk, but, fellas, a mere 17 minutes delay at a US airport, these days, is probably considered on-time by lame DOT standards.
Absolutely ridiculous. US carriers are constantly delayed in FRA and MUC to give the hometown carrier an advantage. US Widebodies are left daily to wait for single aisle LH jets clear outbound and inbound gates before getting push clearance. 17min on SFO. It takes that long just to taxi from their G gate sometimes!
Probably a DEI air traffic controller hired by mayor Pete...
Germany, the country/culture that pushes discipline and punctuality beyond absurdity. Funny, unless this turns against you.
As someone who has unfortunately ridden (or attempted to ride) a bunch of Deutsche Bahn trains over the last few years, I don't really understand how you can possibly say that Germans "want punctuality and efficiency".
I take it these pilots have never been to ORD. They might not have a long time to wait at one of the runways, but it will sure take them a long time to get there. Same could be said for AMS.
17 minutes wait for take off at a USA or any airport in world is normal, therefore the complaint of Lufthansa pilots is over reaction. They were lucky to wait only 17 minutes,
Germans wants to be on time. That’s why.
An A380 needs more spacing than normal, right? It’s a long time to be idling on the jetway, but depending on what was landing, it surely wouldn’t be as simple as saying “yeah, let’s have these other planes circle for a while so we can get you out.”
Don't become click bait. You asking if two a380 captains are "delusional" is beneath you (and most of your readership).
Only bothering to make this comment cause I generally like your work.