Jenny Southan discovers the secret to successful aircraft turnarounds at Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow base
From the moment an aircraft arrives at its destination airport, it is being prepared for its next departure. In a busy airport such as London Heathrow, a quick turnaround is essential, and to ensure optimum efficiency, Virgin Atlantic conducts its operations there from a dedicated control centre called the Gatehouse, which is located in Terminal 3.
It isn’t quite a 24-hour operation, but it is close. For Virgin, on an average day, there are 40 take-offs and landings, with seven hub duty managers working in shifts from 0530 to 2330, by which time the final flights will be in the air (providing there have been no delays).
Also in the Gatehouse, cabin crew (easy to spot in their distinctive red Vivienne Westwood uniforms) are briefed, pilots can assess their flight plan, and in the operations office, flight supervisors deal with everything “above the wing” (otherwise known as us, the passengers).
As you might expect, sometimes it is the passengers who can cause delays. Sarah Kitson, one of the hub duty managers, says they sometimes refer to parts of the passenger terminal as “the Bermuda Triangle”.
“You get these missing passengers that have checked in and then not appeared for their flight," she says. “They might have fallen asleep, or gone to the wrong gate or another terminal to shop. Sometimes it can be an hour after a flight has gone until someone finds them.”
And if they are not found? “By minus 15 or minus 20 minutes before take-off, we have to begin the process of off-loading their luggage.”
Kitson’s job is a constant race against time. “You are always looking at your watch,” she says. It also involves frequent phone calls and the analysis of complicated spreadsheets. “We have a timeline for every departure so all the data and timings of when the cleaners arrive and leave, for example, are input [it takes 65 minutes to clean a B747], to make sure we get the plane out on time.”
The operations office also houses the aircraft dispatchers, who focus on what happens “below the wing” when the aircraft is at the gate. This includes what’s going in the hold and what fuel needs to go on board – they will also liaise with the engineers, caterers, security and flight deck.
As well as luggage, most Virgin Atlantic planes carry cargo – anything from fresh flowers to pharmaceuticals and cars. Kitson says lots of supercars are flown in and out of Dubai – today a pair of vintage Formula One cars are on board. In addition, Kitson says: “On VS39 we have two dogs going from London to Chicago so the dispatchers will have to ask the flight deck to stick the heating on.”
All Virgin Atlantic planes have names – there’s Birthday Girl, Ruby Tuesday and Lady Penelope. Pointing out the window at a B747, Kitson says: “This one’s Mustang Sally. Pretty much all of our aircraft come in in the morning as we do a lot of US flights. The bags come off, security does a full sweep and it is cleaned.”
She adds: “We like our planes to have a two-hour turn [a jumbo will need two and a half hours] – we found 90 minutes puts everyone under a lot of pressure, although it can be done. We need to turn the aircraft around as quickly as possible because we get charged for the time it is on the ground – it’s hundreds of pounds per minute.”
The turnaround of an aircraft involves lots of things happening simultaneously – on the B747 that has just landed from New York, there are 12 cleaners at work, the engines are being refuelled, the catering loaded, and the engineers are doing checks. The crew boards at minus 75 minutes. Meanwhile, bags are placed in the hold according to cabin class, so those with priority can be removed first.
Systems need to be constantly updated with aircraft status – if there are delays, these are logged and the reasons indicated with codes unique to Virgin. (A code 41 is an aircraft defect and a code 39 is an aircraft documentation delay.) Hub duty managers need to inform third-party contractors if there is a plane change, for example, and load sheets for cargo must be kept updated. If a dry ice palette is in the wrong place (too close to the dogs, for example), it means the load sheet was wrong and needs to be redone.
Knowing the weight of the plane is essential. All aircraft are weighed regularly via pressure pads in the hangar – this gives a reading called the “basic weight”. (The plane can also weigh itself, although the figure is less reliable.) Informed estimates of all additional items on board are then recorded for the dispatchers.
Dispatcher James Welch says: “We know the weight of catering from Miami versus the catering going to New York, and we also have average values for passengers – a male is 90kg, a female is 72kg and a child is 37kg.” The volume of fuel is weighed, too. “On this flight to New York JFK, we have 103 tonnes, which is worth about £40,000.”
Dispatchers are each equipped with a Blackberry-style RAT (radio access technology) device, and have access to the plane itself and the tarmac below. They also use a telex printer to create copies of messages that are sent and received. “It is quite old school,” says Welch. “I am not sure many airports still run on these.”
Before take-off, the load sheet is printed and checked – in addition to more complex information, it shows the number of crew (15 plus two pilots on a B747), the amount of fuel needed, the aircraft weight, total passengers, a breakdown of the cabins and where the cargo is, the weight of the catering and the captain’s name.
At minus 55 minutes, passenger boarding begins. When that is completed, a signature from the dispatcher and pilot then approves the plane for take-off – all you have to do then is sit back and enjoy the in-flight entertainment.
