Hi Captain Lim,
I wanted to thank you for this website, it's so informative and helpful!
I am a very nervous flyer especially going over seas. I'm taking Air Europa on a Boeing 737 from Miami to Madrid. My father-in-law used to be a pilot and seemed kind of surprised that they would use such a small plane to go over the Atlantic. This makes me even more nervous to hear this from an ex-pilot.
Is this safe? I'm getting myself so worked up about flying overseas on this small plane; it makes me want to change my flight.
Please help!
Thank you,
Krista
Hi Krista,
Flying across the Atlantic on a Boeing 737 is not a problem as long as it is ETOPS certified to do so. Not any twin-engine plane, such as the older B737 can comply with the stringent requirement to fly across the long expanse of the ocean.
As far as I know, Air Europa has about 32 newer-generation Boeing 737-800 planes that may comply with ETOPS.
What does ETOPS compliant means to a lay person? Well, even though some people make fun of this acronym to mean “Engine Turns Or Passengers Swims”; in reality, it stands for "Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operational Performance Standards"
Leaving aside the technicalities of ETOPS, when a plane is so certified, it means that it can legally and safely fly across the Atlantic.
So there is nothing to worry about flying on the plane from Miami to Madrid. Your father-in-law may have thought of the older planes. The new Boeing 737-800 can carry around 186 passengers safely across the ocean without any problem. It is more advanced than the 4-engined Boeing 707 that used to fly across the Atlantic many years back with about the same passenger capacity.
Air Europa B737-800 takes off from Valencia Airport
|
