HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
JANUARY 2013
15
CONNECTIONS
ASKTHEPILOT
With Captain Mike Bowers
Q: Can commercial pilots
regularly fly more than
one type of airplane?
A:
For consistency’s sake,
airline pilots normally
fly just one type of
aircraft. There are some
exceptions, such as the
narrowbody Boeing 757
and the widebody 767,
which were designed
to be so alike that pilots
could easily transition
from one cockpit to the
other. Some aircraft
types, like the Boeing
737
family, have several
series that pilots may fly
concurrently: A United
pilot who is qualified to
fly Boeing 737s can fly
the 737-500, 737-700,
737-800
and 737-900.
The same is true with
the Airbus A320 family,
which includes the A319.
The primary differences
between those series
are the length of the
aircraft and the number
of passengers they can
hold; the cockpits are
very similar.
Do you have a question for
Captain Bowers? Write him
at askthepilot@united.com.
MOSTOFUNITED’S
700 “
mainline” aircra —
those not flying under the United Express
banner—take to the skies every day. Given
the busy schedules that these aircra fly,
somecabinupgradesarewell-choreographed
races against the clock.
AddingEconomyPlus seatingonaBoeing
737-800
requires a full day out of service and
some 75 worker-hours. United operations
and schedule planners route the aircraft
through Houston, Los Angeles or Orlando,
where technicians begin their work by dis-
connecting emergency path lighting, in-seat
power, entertainment and other systems
that require wiring and cabling; then they
remove one row of United Economy seats.
The remaining rows forward of the emer-
gencyexits are spacedapart tooffer, typically,
an additional 5 inches of “pitch” per rowand
2
more inches of recline per seat, and thewir-
ing and cabling systems are restored. Next,
the teams remove one overhead panel of
reading lights, air vents and call bu ons, and
reposition the others tomatch the seat rows.
Then the technicians reposition the seat
row markers and add Economy Plus and
in-seat power placards or stickers to the
rows. Finally, a er a check of all systems,
the plane is ready to get back in the air.
Not bad for a day’s work.
QuickChange
