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I was recently looking at Qatar's DOH-AKL flight on flightradar24 and wondered what alternates they use in New Zealand?

Wouldn't WLG (+298miles) & CHC (+463miles) add a lot of fuel to carry for 16 hours?

346fetish

A while ago an EK A380 diverted to Palmerston North while a SIA A380 was stuck on the Runway in AKL.

Every airline I have worked with uses OHA.
There is actually a photo out there with half dozen widebodies on the ramp at OHA following weather closure of AKL.

Don’t know what QR are using, but when I used to operate to AKL, we used CHC as our alternate.

Alternates 400Nm away are not that unusual, especially in a wide body, which can’t operate into certain airports. I’ve seen alternates twice as far (GLA for KEF, BOM for DEL).

As far as the cost of extra fuel goes - on a 787/A330/A350 an alternate 1h away requires around ~5 tons of fuel. To carry that extra fuel for 16 hours you burn ~ 2 tons extra.

For a 777/A380 the amount will be somewhat higher, don’t know the numbers though.

paullam wrote:

A while ago an EK A380 diverted to Palmerston North while a SIA A380 was stuck on the Runway in AKL.

You mean Ohakea, which is not Palmerston North. An A380 at PMR would make big headlines, and not in a good way.

seat55a wrote:

paullam wrote:

A while ago an EK A380 diverted to Palmerston North while a SIA A380 was stuck on the Runway in AKL.

You mean Ohakea, which is not Palmerston North. An A380 at PMR would make big headlines, and not in a good way.

Sure but in this case you stand to be corrected:

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeal ... -base.html

I actually found out about it because, well, it made headlines

It landed at Ohakea RNZAFB.

GF

mercure1 wrote:

Every airline I have worked with uses OHA.
There is actually a photo out there with half dozen widebodies on the ramp at OHA following weather closure of AKL.

That might be changing as Singapore has signed a deal to base F15s there.

I have carried Island reserve, CHC and SYD before as well as OHA for AKL.

The Singapore F15 deal is off, as of late December.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/109533 ... a-rejected

zeke wrote:

I have carried Island reserve, CHC and SYD before as well as OHA for AKL.

Island reserve?

Increased holding fuel and a higher standard of weather forecast for TOA, usually 2 hours instead of alternate plus 30 minutes or alternate plus 45 minutes (FAA). Sometimes called remote airport reserve.

GF