Page 39 - World Airnews Magazine May 2021 Edition
P. 39

FEATURE



                0 Cabin systems
                0 Mode S transponder with 24-bit ICAO code
                0 APM
                0 HF transceivers

                0 Software Data Loader
                0 EFB
           •  Integrated Standby Flight Display (ISFD) is a single flat pane

              liquid display (LCD)

           For Captain Wessels, the difference the new flight deck makes on

         a pilot’s life is hard to describe. First off, he said, the flight deck is


         quieter and this reduces fatigue, situational awareness is improved



         because of the better weather display and this also allows for the



         ability to scan different altitudes for weather.                                   Beautiful NG sky interior

           Other improvements include the vertical situation display that also

         improves situational awareness on final approach, short field perfor-



         mance enhancements that improve payload capability tremendously

         on short and wet runways reducing operational payload restrictions


         and last but not least - psychologically a new aircraft brings a sense
         of pride and belonging because everything is working.
           Interesting to note, the first new aircraft has already done 2180



         hours with no defects.

           Back to the actual flight, the landing in Johannesburg on runway
         03R and we were soon down having done a full Autoland - ten
         minutes earlier than schedule.

           Delays because of pax are sometimes experienced and the problem


         is with a 30 min turn-around time that make it hard to make up time.
         The boarding process has been improved with bigger storage bins.

           On landing - out came the laptops and all the calculations were done
         via Comair’s amazing EFB and then the dual FMCs were programmed.
           Good CRM (cockpit resource management)!

           What was abundantly clear on this flight is  that there is no cock-

         pit authority gradient which so often leads to problems - the team   Captain  Wynand Wessels and SFO Alicia Rochart

         works as a team and it was wonderful to watch this in action.
           And what about the new CFM engine that powers registration

         ZS ZWA-H?
           Propulsion improvements include an improved high-pressure
         turbine, improved primary nozzle and plug, refined aft strut fairing


         heat shield.
           Together with the following performance improvements the new

         B737-8LD reduces fuel consumption by at least 3% on Comair’s
         route structure.
           My overall impression of this plane is that it’s very solidly built,
         has a lot of new very advanced systems, is quieter and the experi-
         ence is an extremely pleasant one.
           From a passenger perspective what are the improvements?

           The answer – the welcoming Sky interior that creates a dis-


         tinctive and positive experience, the new cabin architecture that


         provides an open look and feel, LED lighting enhances a sense
         of spaciousness in the cabin, a funky designated carpet that was       New CEO Glenn Orsmond chats to Glen
         designed to catch the spirit of Kulula ‘fun/easy’.                                Warden in the Ops Centre
           Must say, the Yokohama toilets are stunning and the carpets are

         in a pattern of business and pleasure. The seats are a dark leather

         and there is reasonable leg room in the BA configuration For the

         business traveller, passengers can enjoy new pivot bins with great-

         er capacity, new sculpted sidewalls, colour LED sidewall lighting
         and ceiling lighting, new PSUs with LED reading lights, a speaker in

         every PSU enhancing sound quality - all of which come together to
         improve the experience of the passenger.

           It is worth noting that the Boeing Sky interior bin is 166% bigger
         than the standard bin allowing an extra four bags in each. One of

         the big problems in the low-cost environment is to offload and load

         190 passengers in 30 minutes. The Sky Interior bins allow passen-

         gers more baggage space resulting in them settling down quicker


         leading to faster turnaround times. A very big thank you to the

         entire Comair team for allowing me to have a look at their  front


         office with them. Q                                                  Split Scimitar winglets as fitted to ZS ZWG


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                                                    World Airnews | May 2021
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