All About Flight Planning
Flight planning is a complex business; without it our commercial airways would be in a shambles and yet it is one thing which many people take for granted. Why should people understand about flight planning unless they are a pilot or otherwise connected to the arrangement of flights? One thing a better understanding of flight planning would do for the average person is to remove the mystery of why there can sometimes be delays on commercial flights. The public have little understanding of what goes into planning a flight, whether it is long haul or not; they are usually thinking no further than what concerns them; their hand luggage, their comfort and their time. This is of course exactly how it should be; no member of the public needs to be bothered with the finite details of planning a commercial flight but if we were to try and explain the basics in a jargon-free style, then people would certainly benefit from this understanding during times of delay on commercial flights. So what are the main points which people might do well to understand?
Flight Planning: The Basics
Flight planning is not nearly as time-consuming as it once was; with the advent of sophisticated computer programmes, the business of planning a journey by air has been vastly simplified. Once upon a time it took many calculations and many hours to work out the best path for an aircraft to take in order to reach its final destination. It took many hours to predict weather patterns and expected fuel consumption. Today’s pilots know that they can rely on the best in computer technology for accurate predictions and evaluations. The public can also take it for granted that their journey has been meticulously planned right down to the smallest detail and they can relax safe in the knowledge that their safety is the primary concern for all involved in the planning of a journey by air.
Flight Planning and Technology
Because so much time and fuel is saved with accurate computer aided flight planning systems, customers and airlines are directly benefiting from the resulting monetary gain. Less waste means that more can be saved towards creating more luxurious travel and what can be more luxurious than knowing your journey is planned to the very last detail to maximise your safety and comfort? Avoiding bad weather patches is a real plus when it comes to the comfort and safety of passengers on commercial flights. Turbulence is never fun and although the weather cannot always be predicted accurately, the skills of today’s flight planning experts combined with powerful computer programmes can at least ensure that the path of least resistance is taken where possible. It is this confidence in the skills of the professionals which makes it all the more important to plan flights with the best available resources. Planning is always developing and improving and as the power of technology increases on an almost daily basis, so does the power of the airlines to make journey’s more comfortable than ever before.