Bay of Bengal

[asher3121]

Hi Royd

Bad flyer- well only during turbulence - here! Just a question about the dreaded Bay of Bengal, why is it always so turbulent??!
In say that I flew on the A380(nice ship!) from Singapore to London on 13th June and the pilot warned us there would be bad turbulence in that area but there was nothing?! My parents flew at the same time to Athens (left and hour later) and there flight got a good beating.

That said we flew through the Malacca Strait on the way back and we copped a belting for a good 45 minutes and he didnt seem to divert away from it or to a higher altitude (he was 11,000 metres). I am assuming that thunderstorms would have been the culprit in that part of the world or perhaps high cloud? do they often just fly through these areas of sever turbulence??

P.S although i dont want to curse myself, but I have flown in and out of singapore 6 times in the past 12 months and considering where it sits its always been smooth- luck??

[CAflyer]

Are you on a larger plane? Maybe that is the case, or maybe you are just really lucky.

[CanarsieApproach]

I'd like to know that too. I am going to Thailand next week and India in October. Turbulence is extremely anxiety producing for me, enve though I know that it is safe intellectually, I can't seem to make my reptile mind grok that.

At any rate, I think often times in those monsoonal areas, there is so much thunderstorm activity that even though pilots wont' fly through storms, might have to skirt them, and there will still be turbulence. But I'd love to hear the captain's take on it.

I am also worried, at the risk of sounding like an ugly American, that Asian airlines might be more "macho" than US airlines who are used to litigious high-maintenance passengers. Thus would a JAL or a Thai Airlines pilot say, "well we can skirt by those cells, save us a half hour - sure it will be bumpy, pax will just have to endure?"

[MathFox]

I am also worried, at the risk of sounding like an ugly American, that Asian airlines might be more "macho" than US airlines who are used to litigious high-maintenance passengers. Thus would a JAL or a Thai Airlines pilot say, "well we can skirt by those cells, save us a half hour - sure it will be bumpy, pax will just have to endure?"
The best airlines of the world, with excellent service and excellent safety records come from South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Cathay). Airlines from other countries in the area can have less impressive safety records, it is worth to check the airline's reputation before booking (check for code shares, the selling airline isn't always the flying airline).
In the top tier, comfort and safety comes first. (And yes, top tier airlines are picky about the pilots they hire.) Atmosphere on board will be different, because the crew has a different cultural background; safety will be at least as good as on US airlines.

[tusphotog]

I am also worried, at the risk of sounding like an ugly American, that Asian airlines might be more "macho" than US airlines who are used to litigious high-maintenance passengers. Thus would a JAL or a Thai Airlines pilot say, "well we can skirt by those cells, save us a half hour - sure it will be bumpy, pax will just have to endure?"

Remember, a lot of Asian airlines have pilots that are from the UK or Europe or even the US. In fact, I think a good number of Cathay Pacific pilots are British.

JAL used to train new-hire pilots here in Arizona actually. I'm not sure if they still do. I know that they still train 747 pilots up in Moses Lake, Washington.

[asher3121]

Yes I was on a larger plane than my folks, but in March when i flew from London to Singapore again on the A380 we had 6 solid hours of turbulence, from around Afghanistan up until Malaysia (so annoying) and that was on the Big Bird too. I was looking out the window during that time, and i could see lights so it definately wasnt high cloud, perhaps it was the clear air turbulence variety.

getting back to the A380 again, they have a great little segment on their extensive inflight communications system which explains to you how the plane works and all sorts of things including all about turbulence, the different types, jet streams it was quite interesting to read it and somewhat reassuring. Unfortunately i discovered it a little too late into my flight. I dint know how you'd get your hands on it, but it made it sound 'ok' to be bouncing around despite the fact that you have 40,000 feet under you.

I also read an article about a lady who suffered through an emergency landing in moscow some years ago, the plane and pax came to no harm but the fact that she was part of it left her scarred and fearful of air travel. she ended up doing a fear of flying course and her faith in air travel was re-established. She explained in her article that turbulence is like a pineapplge sitting in a bowl of jelly... it will jiggle around but it wont fall through the middle. so whenever i hit a pocket of turbulence I sit there saying 'pineapple in jelly' pineapple in jelly', i am sure I am great source of amusement for all around me!!:rolleyes:

[CAflyer]

That is very cool that you got to go on that new huge plane! I don't know why but the bigger the plane the more fearful I am of it. I guess I just can't figure out how a monster like that flys! I know how it flys but my mind doesn't want to accept it I guess. I think I also get worried about if we did have an emergency the time it would take to get out of a huge plane verses a small plane. But then I think.. with a large plane you have more around you so less harm might be done to you?? hehe

[tusphotog]

I guess I just can't figure out how a monster like that flys! I know how it flys but my mind doesn't want to accept it I guess. I think I also get worried about if we did have an emergency the time it would take to get out of a huge plane verses a small plane. But then I think.. with a large plane you have more around you so less harm might be done to you?? hehe

Time for a lesson in thrust to weight ratios! :)

Basically though, it flies the same way a Cessna flies. As for the evac, the A380 has to be certified to be evacuated in 90 seconds or less, which I believe is both the EU and FAA requirement. The folks in Hamburg did it in 77 seconds with only half of the exits. That's what I call German efficiency. :D Great vid of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOcrP7u7Y8

[asher3121]

its funny how our fears are driven by different things. Seeing that my main fear is turbulence, the larger the plane the happier I am as I am less likely to feel it. In saying that though I flew on a BAe146 from helsinki to copenhagen and that was a great little aircraft (16 rows - small in my mind), but it had 4 engines, and zipper around fabulously!!
the more engines the better in my mind...!! those planes can fly on one engine and I love that fact!

[Falcon]

Turbulence is a funny one. The only time people get to experience it is when they are in a strange environment where there are odd noises and things are happening beyond their control. Prehaps because it is a motion that is only experienced in aircraft causes people difficulty.