PIA creates world commercial aviation history

Discuss issues and news related to PIA, Pakistani airlines and Pakistan's civil & military aviation.
PK777
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PIA creates world commercial aviation history

Post by PK777 »

PIA creates world commercial aviation history

KARACHI (November 11 2005): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has created world commercial aviation history by flying the newly manufactured Boeing 777 LR (Long Range) the first airline in the world to fly it from HongKong to Heathrow the wrong way around the globe.

Flying from HongKong it went overhead Japan, then across the Pacific ocean flying over Hawaii to overhead San Francisco, then onwards across the North American Continent to overhead New York, flying still farther across the Atlantic Ocean to land at Heathrow Airport, London non-stop and in one giant leap lasting slightly less than 24 hours.

The trip, which broke the 16-minute flight time record of the Airbus 340 and also Boeing's 747-400's record from London to Sydney, flew 12,600 miles or more than half the circumference of the globe.

Flying at .83 Mach or 17 Mach less then the speed of sound, the 35 persons onboard, including 8 cockpit crew members, witnessed two sunrises, and even had scheduled sleep timings in the bunkers onboard.

Among the five Boeing pilots were Captain Susana Darcy, Boeing 777 test pilot, and Captain Frank Santoni, representing the Boeing Company.

Along with five Boeing pilots, Commander Asif Raza, Senior Vice President Flight operations PIA was in command and was assisted by Captain Mohammed Ilyas Malik, designated as check pilot Boeing 777 in PIA, to fly the aircraft.

A Singapore Airline pilot was also onboard, as Singapore Airline is evaluating buying this aeroplane after PIA.

The event was reminiscent of another such record breaking flight by PIA nearly four decades earlier, when Commander Abdullah Baig, the most famous pilot of PIA flying the newly manufactured Boeing 720, eased into a jet stream during cruise with consummate skill, to break the London-Karachi flight time record.


Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2005
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AirBlue
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Re: PIA creates world commercial aviation history

Post by AirBlue »

Mashallah good news !

PK777 wrote:Flying at .83 Mach or 17 Mach less then the speed of sound

Newspaper typo :P '.17'
CoyBoy
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Post by CoyBoy »

Why wasnt the test aircrfat in PIA livery? did foreign media mention it being a PIA aircraft or just a Boeing test flight? what aspect of it was commercial? who were the paying passengers onboard?
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AP-BGL
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Post by AP-BGL »

pakiaviator wrote:PIA MAKING THE RECORD.... WELL I THINK THATS A BALONI CZ WE ALL KNOW THAT IT WAS A BOEING MISSION ON AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT.....!!!!
What I have heard is PIA's pilots and crew members are operating this flight and it surely means PIA makes the record...

PIA Zindabaad!!!
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smarties
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Post by smarties »

well i agree with pakiaviator. The flight was under boeing registration and colours. There is alot of work needed to do before the plane is delivered to PIA, which will take at least 2 months.
"Now we're going round in circles, tell me will this deja vu never end?"
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Post by pakiaviator »

i think there were only two PIA pilots/officials on board. Also the plane was registered in US serial # N .... as an experimental AC,
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Post by basit_s »

Boeing and PIA set endurance record

LONDON: Nov 10: A Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft set an endurance record for a non-stop commercial flight on Thursday, travelling more than 22 hours eastwards from Hong Kong to London.

The aircraft, with 35 passengers and crew aboard, flew more than half way around the world, covering 11,664 nautical miles, or 21,601 kilometres.

Along with five Boeing 777 pilots, Commander Asif Reza, Senior Vice-President, Flight Operations, PIA was in command, and was assisted by Capt Muhammad Illyas Malik, designated as Check Pilot Boeing 777 in PIA, to fly the aircraft as Boeing's Launch Customer, pending delivery of this first plane to PIA registered in Pakistan AP-BGY. A Singapore Airlines pilot was also on board as Singapore Airline is evaluating this aeroplane after PIA.

The event was reminiscent of another such record-breaking flight by PIA nearly four decades earlier when Commander Abdullah Baig, flying the newly manufactured Boeing 720, eased into a jet stream during cruise with consummate skill, to break the London-Karachi flight time record.

The 777-200LR (longer range) Worldliner plane touched down at London's Heathrow airport in Boeing's blue and white livery, with the word "experimental" over the forward door.

Officials from the Guinness World Records were on hand at London's Heathrow Airport to verify the record as the world's longest commercial flight.

The plane flew from Hong Kong to London, going the long way round over North America in a flight which lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes.

Captain Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, one of the pilots, said the plane had two hours of fuel left when it landed.

Asked why they did not keep going, she said: "You have to declare your route before you set off."

She told reporters that air traffic controllers, unaware the flight was trying to break a record, had offered the pilots vectors, or short cuts, to speed up the journey.

"We kept being offered vectors and, strange for a pilot, we kept saying no we want to stay on our route," she said.

The first Boeing 777-200LR will be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines in early 2006. The plane can carry about 300 passengers.

Randy Tinseth, director of product marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes said the plane's long-range capabilities, by using two rather than four fuel-efficient engines, would save airlines about 2 million gallons of fuel per year.
az inja boro. nemikham bebinamet dige toro.