One of the results of Mt. Redoubt’s eruption is that Cathay Pacific hasn’t been flying into Anchorage since. The volcano is less than 100 miles from the Anchorage airport and the ash, that is harmful to jet engines, is still affecting the entire area. Anchorage is used by many carriers as a fuel stop between the East Coast of the U.S. and Asia. The cargo version of the 747 that I fly has a very long range, but the amount of cargo we carry sometimes limits the amount of fuel we can then carry as well, thus limiting our range. There is nothing special about Anchorage, per se, it’s just positioned well to be within the range of flights coming from both Asia and all over the U.S.

We always fly a great circle route to save on distance between to points on the Earth. A flight leaving Los Angeles bound for Hong Kong passes off the coast of San Francisco, right past Vancouver, just off the coast of Anchorage (well above the ash cloud at this stage, I might add) over southern Russia, over Japan and Taiwan, and then into Hong Kong (via the Elato 4 arrival). Sometimes, when the winds over the great circle route are strong, it pays off to fly farther south of that track, and fly over the fatter part of the Earth, closer to Hawaii. In this case, even though we are flying a farther distance, we get there with less fuel burn because the headwinds wouldn’t slow us down as much.

Right now, I’m on a rest period from Vancouver to Hong Kong, at 34,000 feet over the Pacific, as I help operate flight 81. Below is a picture of our route plot, to give you another idea of what a great circle route looks like. If you click on it, it will open up much larger on a new page.

This is where you can see that western Alaska makes for a great pit-stop. It also shows you that a flight from Asia to almost anywhere along the Western seaboard of the U.S. is just about the same length of time. Yes, Hong Kong to L.A. is far, but not much farther than San Fran, as you can see. Going from Hong Kong to L.A. is not too bad, because the winds also blow West to East, helping to push us along. However, going from L.A. to Hong Kong is much trickier. On a flight like that, into the headwinds, we have to watch our fuel very closely. If there is any weather affecting Hong Kong, or the winds are stronger than forecast, a stop in Taipei or Southern Japan is usually what ends up happening.

Because Anchorage is unavailable, we’re flying to Hong Kong from Vancouver instead. By looking at the above route plot, you can see it is much longer than from Anchorage, more than 13 and a half hours, instead of 10 or so. That hurts Cathay, because the longer flights mean less cargo can go on each flight due to the fuel requirements. They want Anchorage to open back up soon so that payloads can increase again.

Today, we are flying the newest Boeing 747 in the world — literally, as it just came off the production line. It even smells new inside! (You know, that new airplane smell?) It is officially a 747-400ERF, or extended range freighter. It is more efficient, has more thrust, can carry more cargo, and has a longer range than a normal 747 freighter. Cathay Pacific has purchased six of these, and they are one of the last 747’s that are coming off Boeing’s production line. I’m not sure where the last 747 will go or who has purchased it, but it’s a sad end to an era, at least until the 747-8 comes out. This ERF is so awesome, that we actually CAN take a full compliment of cargo from Vancouver to Hong Kong, like a normal freighter could from Anchorage, but the company only has six of these, so not every flight can be an ERF flight.

One advantage of flying from Vancouver to Hong Kong instead of from Anchorage, is that because of the longer flight times, we have a four-man crew, instead of the normal three. Dividing the flying between four of us (like we have right now so that I can be typing this) is much better than dividing it by three of us. That means more rest for us, or goofing off blogging like I am. The ERF’s have power ports in the seats behind the cockpit, so I’m in heaven.

The other advantage is that we get to see some of Vancouver. It’s a beautiful city and I hope to spend more time there when I have a longer overnight. It sits at the base of a mountain range and when its not raining there are some glorious views. It’s fun to fly into Anchorage, but I’m glad for the volcano eruption because it gives me the chance to fly into and see something else for a change.

I feel pretty blessed to have this job. It was four a.m. this morning and I was doing the walk-around in the dark cool air that Vancouver provided. Out of the darkness stood this huge beast of a machine, all lit up from the lights on the ramp. The newest 747 in the world looked amazingly clean without a single scratch or grease mark. The tires still had the rubber spikes that stick out from the manufacturing and I could have eaten off the wheel wells they were so clean. I wasn’t particularly excited about being away from my wife or having to be up at such an early hour, but all in all, I have little to complain about and get excited every time I do a walk around inspection. I think: “I going to fly this huge thing across the Pacific.” It was a great trip today.