Question for any Capts or First officers on the A321

[US AIRWAYS FAN]

I have a question that I am hoping one of you all can answer.

I know that US Airways has A321's that sometimes go out of DCA (I have not seen one as of late). My question is. Could an Airbus 321 leave DCA with a full load and full of fuel to make it to LAX or anywhere on the west coast. (Summer or Winter months).

I know I have been on the A321 completely full with pax however, I was not sure if it was fully loaded with fuel or not. I THINK it was. We did make a stop in PIT and continued onto LAX however, I did not see any fuel trucks pull up to the aircraft. But I can't be sure 100% if they did not not (did not pay that much attention.)

Anyone have the answer to this?

 

[N924PS]

I have a question that I am hoping one of you all can answer.

I know that US Airways has A321's that sometimes go out of DCA (I have not seen one as of late). My question is. Could an Airbus 321 leave DCA with a full load and full of fuel to make it to LAX or anywhere on the west coast. (Summer or Winter months).

I know I have been on the A321 completely full with pax however, I was not sure if it was fully loaded with fuel or not. I THINK it was. We did make a stop in PIT and continued onto LAX however, I did not see any fuel trucks pull up to the aircraft. But I can't be sure 100% if they did not not (did not pay that much attention.)

Anyone have the answer to this?

The answer to your question would have to come from someone at USAirways Operation Control Center or Performance Engineering.

As pilots, the USAirways Pilots Handbooks have very little information for acually planning a flight regarding fuel burns and takeoff and landing performance data.

Individual flight planning packages have a TPS, or Takeoff Performance System. This is a computer generated document that gives you the maximum weight for takeoff based on temperature and other determining factors.

My initial answer would be that you would not be able to accomplish DCA-West Coast in the A321 without restricting the number of pax/bags carried. Summer or winter. It could be done from BWI or IAD. In fact, back in the "Global Carrier of Choice" days of Steven Wolf we did in fact fly BWI-LAX-SFO-SEA in the A321. Full.

 

[FLYAWAY]

Maybe...It would depend on the WX in LAX. It would not require full fuel to reach LAX but the WX there may require an alternate airport for fuel planning. That would make it marginal.

I have a question that I am hoping one of you all can answer.

I know that US Airways has A321's that sometimes go out of DCA (I have not seen one as of late). My question is. Could an Airbus 321 leave DCA with a full load and full of fuel to make it to LAX or anywhere on the west coast. (Summer or Winter months).

I know I have been on the A321 completely full with pax however, I was not sure if it was fully loaded with fuel or not. I THINK it was. We did make a stop in PIT and continued onto LAX however, I did not see any fuel trucks pull up to the aircraft. But I can't be sure 100% if they did not not (did not pay that much attention.)

Anyone have the answer to this?

 

[A320 Driver]

Actually, much of it depends on noise. The airplane makes more noise heavy than it does light because it stays at a lower altitude longer and that runs up the decible levels during departure. We had to jump through some hoops when we first got the Airbus because all of U's aircraft came with a high gross takeoff weight. Apparently some if not all of Northwest's and United's aircraft were delivered at the old lower gross weight and their aircraft were upgraded later. I'm not sure what agreement was made with the Govt regarding Airbus departures to meet the noise requirements.


A320 Driver B)

 

[justaumechanic]

The only thing anyone needs to know concerning the A321 in the US Airways configuration is the aircrafts knickname.

The A321 is proudly known as the "Pig with Wings".

No operator in the world does what US Airways tries to do with the A321.. A legacy left from the days of Wolf and Gangwal.

The A321 is not a 757 no matter how much US Airways would like it to be.

The smart move is to use the A321 for what it was built for. High Capacity med haul routes. Remove the Aux Tanks, unload 1/2 of the First Class seats and use the aircraft for what it was designed for.

You want to fly DCA to the West Coast, use a 757.

 

[N924PS]

From a passenger standpoint, the A321 is a much better experience than the USAirways B757. The cabin is wider, the coach and First Class seats are more comfortable. The cabin is quieter and has a better passenger entertainment system.

The A321 has 26 seats in First class which is appealing to our premium customers on a transcon flight. Better chance for an upgrade. Only 8 in the B757 cattle car.

I have flown both types transcon,in just about every seat in the house, and I prefer the Airbus to the Boeing.

 

[E-TRONS]

The A321 is proudly known as the "Pig with Wings".

What ever happened to the "SCUD" moniker?? Because you never know where it will come down

 

[757fixer]

What about A360? You push it out and it turns around and comes back.

 

[A320 Driver]

Must agree with N924PS. The U B-757s are the worst ride U owns as far as passenger comfort. Such a great airplane but those seats...YUCK. The 321s would be a better airplane if CFM hadn't stiffed us on the engines. Lots of takeoff thrust...not enough climb thrust.


A320 Driver

 

[drrstrav]

The answer to your question would have to come from someone at USAirways Operation Control Center or Performance Engineering.

As pilots, the USAirways Pilots Handbooks have very little information for acually planning a flight regarding fuel burns and takeoff and landing performance data.

Individual flight planning packages have a TPS, or Takeoff Performance System. This is a computer generated document that gives you the maximum weight for takeoff based on temperature and other determining factors.

My initial answer would be that you would not be able to accomplish DCA-West Coast in the A321 without restricting the number of pax/bags carried. Summer or winter. It could be done from BWI or IAD. In fact, back in the "Global Carrier of Choice" days of Steven Wolf we did in fact fly BWI-LAX-SFO-SEA in the A321. Full.

WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED? 9/11 started with same inquiry, about the aircraft, fuel, pax, etc?

 

[ClueByFour]

WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED? 9/11 started with same inquiry, about the aircraft, fuel, pax, etc?

I'm sure he's going to take the performance data that he receives here (secondhand), print it out, and spend the entire flight CLT-LAX trying to use the stack of printouts to force the locked/armored flight-deck door.

Oh, and so we are clear: the 9/11 guys showed up at flight schools around the country. Better call the feds. Quick.

They don't make a big enough rolleye icon for this post.

 

[US AIRWAYS FAN]

Man get a grip DRRSTRAV. Your answer is an insult to me as I am in the US Navy and I lost a couple of co-workers in the Pentagon at 9/11. My question is a normal one in which I fly US a lot and US is the only airline of any of the the USA that uses the A321. Sorry but the A321 is a better ride than that crappy B727 and I will take the A321 Any day.


So A320 Driver back to my question. So the reason why US does not fly out using a full load out of DCA is because of the noise the airplane would make? Is that the correct answer here. Like I have said above I know that the A321 has flown out full of passengers because I have one have been on there. However, I have never been so sure if it was fueled up completely or not. I do remember this was in the summer months when it was super hot outside.

WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED? 9/11 started with same inquiry, about the aircraft, fuel, pax, etc?

 

[BoeingBoy]

US AIRWAYS FAN,

I don't fly the Airbus, but in general you're working with three major variables in any specific airplane - there are other variables (wind, temp, etc, but to keep it simple just consider the three:

1 - available runway length

2 - acceleration for takeoff

3 - takeoff speed

For a given airport the runway length is set by the longest runway available, so that is fixed. The other two vary with weight - adding weight decreases acceleration and increases takeoff speed. Of course, the weight of the empty aircraft is fixed, so additional weight is made up of passengers, baggage/cargo, & fuel.

In theory, enough weight (pax, bags, fuel) could be added to make reaching takeoff speed impossible with the amount of runway available. This is in theory because each airplane type has a maximum structural weight which limits how much weight can be added. The point where runway required equals runway available determines the maximum the aircraft can weigh for takeoff, unless the structural weight limit is less.

As was posted earlier, someone from ops control could run the numbers to see if there are conditions where the A321 could carry enough fuel to reach the west coast from DCA with a full load of passengers and their baggage. I suspect that those conditions would be relatively rare, making it impracticle to schedule daily service using the A321.

Jim

 

[RowUnderDCA]

Ok, it's 7:15 am on April 7th, strong, steady due north wind at 12mph and it's 36F.. tide is going out. Also, it takes an eight man boat more than twice as long to row back to the boathouse from the 14th street bridge as it did to row down, but the coach didn't listen, so now we're all going to be cold, wet, exhausted and late for work! And we know where going to be late because the 757 is buzzing our heads telling us it's after 7 and thowing little waterspouts on the river from wake vortices. (well, the last part is an embellishment, cuz the only time I saw a little waterspout was when the planes were landing from the north)

THEN you could make LAX in a full a321.... I'm guessing.... but you're going to wake up some important, whiny people in Georgetown.

 

[TheWatcher]

Man get a grip DRRSTRAV. Your answer is an insult to me as I am in the US Navy and I lost a couple of co-workers in the Pentagon at 9/11. My question is a normal one in which I fly US a lot and US is the only airline of any of the the USA that uses the A321. Sorry but the A321 is a better ride than that crappy B727 and I will take the A321 Any day.
So A320 Driver back to my question. So the reason why US does not fly out using a full load out of DCA is because of the noise the airplane would make? Is that the correct answer here. Like I have said above I know that the A321 has flown out full of passengers because I have one have been on there. However, I have never been so sure if it was fueled up completely or not. I do remember this was in the summer months when it was super hot outside.

I dont think they fly DCA to the west coast because of some sort of distance restrictions out of DCA. This is the reason you may have been on a full A321, it was probably on a short trip to one of the hub cities before going out to the west coast.