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Chicago to Mumbai (Bombay) nonstop?
Question:
>13000 km. >Not a real big distance. >CHI-HKG is about the same and is within range of any 744, MD11 >or A340. >This route is already flown by United.
Of course this is stretching the limit of the 747-400s range. Sometimes the flight can’t make it without a stop. There was an incident a few weeks ago when a 747-400 flight on the HKG-ORD flight had to stop at Minneapolis for fuel. And wait till winter arrives, it’s going to have to make a fuel-stop when it flies to Hong Kong because of the strong winds. —
Response:
>> 13000 km. >> Not a real big distance. >> CHI-HKG is about the same and is within range of any 744, MD11 >> or A340. >> This route is already flown by United. NA> Of course this is stretching the limit of the 747-400s range. NA> Sometimes the flight can’t make it without a stop. There was an NA> incident a few weeks ago when a 747-400 flight on the HKG-ORD flight NA> had to stop at Minneapolis for fuel. And wait till winter arrives, NA> it’s going to have to make a fuel-stop when it flies to Hong Kong NA> because of the strong winds. No, the ORD-HKG flight won’t have to make a fuel stop during the winter. That’s because the nonstop flight is being discontinued in the wintertime due to those pesky headwinds. –Helen
Response:
The October 11 issue of The Economist has on its inside front cover an advertisement for the Airbus A340 as the plane with the longest range. It shows a picture of the Northern Hemisphere with a nonstop flight path from Chicago to Mumbai (Bombay) over the polar icecap. The competition is shown as having to make a refueling stop at Archangel. Does any airline actually have flights on either route, or have plans for starting flights on such routes? –Dilip V. Sarwate
Response:
> The October 11 issue of The Economist has on its inside front cover > an advertisement for the Airbus A340 as the plane with the longest > range. It shows a picture of the Northern Hemisphere with a nonstop > flight path from Chicago to Mumbai (Bombay) over the polar icecap. > The competition is shown as having to make a refueling stop at > Archangel. Does any airline actually have flights on either route, > or have plans for starting flights on such routes?
Air India will be flying to Chicago twice a week, soon. They will be using a 747, but there will be an intermediary stop in London. Air India is also considering to purchase new aircraft, and what you say is true, Air India might be interested in A340, enabling them to fly Chicago, or, for that matter, New York, to Bombay or Delhi nonstop. —
Response:
>> The October 11 issue of The Economist has on its inside front cover > an advertisement for the Airbus A340 as the plane with the longest > range. It shows a picture of the Northern Hemisphere with a nonstop > flight path from Chicago to Mumbai (Bombay) over the polar icecap. > The competition is shown as having to make a refueling stop at > Archangel. Does any airline actually have flights on either route, > or have plans for starting flights on such routes? >Air India will be flying to Chicago twice a week, soon. They will be using >a 747, but there will be an intermediary stop in London.
It’s Frankfurt, not London. There is much less traffic Chicago-Frankfurt than Chicago-London, but slots are easier to get at FRA than LHR. — Concord World Travel, 278 Wightman Road, London N8 0LX Tel: +44(0)181-342 8400 Fax: +44(0)181-348 0822 Long-haul travel organiser for the independent traveller Member, UK Chapter of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Holder of a Fully Bonded CAA Licence (ATOL number 3735)
Response:
13000 km. Not a real big distance. CHI-HKG is about the same and is within range of any 744, MD11 or A340. This route is already flown by United. Klaas
Response:
>The October 11 issue of The Economist has on its inside front cover >an advertisement for the Airbus A340 as the plane with the longest >range. It shows a picture of the Northern Hemisphere with a nonstop >flight path from Chicago to Mumbai (Bombay) over the polar icecap. >The competition is shown as having to make a refueling stop at >Archangel. Does any airline actually have flights on either route, >or have plans for starting flights on such routes?
Flights are scheduled based on economic viability and not just technical feasibility. There is so much choice in travel to India via Europe that nonstops may not be able to compete. ’Hub and spoke’ is an efficient way of doing business, nonstops are viable only if there is heavy, non-seasonal traffic between those two specific points. Note that passengers to India start from all over the US, and their destination can be anywhere in India. if someone were going from Denver to Calcutta, taking an ORD-BOM nonstop would involve more changes (2) than a flight via an European hub (1 change). I happen to live in Chicago, but I usually fly to Calcutta; even with an ORD-BOM nonstop it would be easier for me to take an European airline to Calcutta than to change planes in Bombay (as you probably know, Indian airports are built to make life as difficult as possible for people transferring there).