Brussels Airlines, Belgium’s main carrier operates an interesting mixed fleet out of Europe’s capital. It is one of the few European companies that fly a winglet version of the Boeing 737 Classic, the 300 series. Airliner World has been invited to see how they fly.
Brussels Airlines rose from the ashes of Sabena after its bankruptcy in 2001. The new company was first set up with the trading name SN Brussels Airlines (SNBA), based on the former Sabena subsidiary Delta Air Transport (DAT). SNBA later merged with Virgin Express and the name was changed to Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is currently part owned by Lufthansa and a member of the Star Alliance. Today the airline operates 32 Avro Jets (a mix of BAe 146-s, AVRO RJ85-s and 100-s), 4 Airbus A319-s, 5 Airbus 330-300-s serving the African destinations and 5 Boeing 737-300-s and 4 400 series, inherited from Virgin Express.
Our contributor joined a flight from Brussels to Naples that was operated by OO-LTM one of the Aviation Partners winglet equipped Boeing 737-300. This interesting project started in 2005 when Virgin Express was contacted by Aviation Partners – Boeing to propose the winglets for the company’s B737-300 Classics. Virgin Express made a historical decision since up to then no other operators retrofitted the type, only New Generation B737-s were equipped. Time has proven that the decision was right as the winglets bring remarkable benefits in daily operations. Using winglets result in an average 5 % fuel saving but also enhance aircraft performance: because of the reduced drag, less thrust is needed for the same take-off performance. This is particularly useful at very noise-sensitive airports like Brussels. In practice this meant that the company could de-rate the CFM56 engines at 20 kN, making take-off-s much quieter and also extending the lifespan of the engines.
Today all but one of the B737-300-s are equipped. (The exception, OO-VEN is modified with 2° drooped flaps as are all the 400-s because the winglet modification was not possible on this 300 and not available yet for the 400 series.)
Our aircraft OO-LTM (c/n 25070) was delivered in 1991 to another Belgian company, TEA Trans European Airlines then it was taken over later by EuroBelgian Airlines. From 1996 it has been flying in Virgin Express colours and finally from 2007 – following the merger with SNBA – adopted Brussels Airlines’ logo.
I met the crew of the flight Captain Frank De Paepe and First Officer Gregory Claes at Zaventem National airport in Brussels. The cockpit crew was supplemented by three cabin crew, Ms Brigitte Favaretto, Ms Agnes Mier and Mr Constantinos Triantafyllos. On this Saturday, the aircraft which is able to carry 142 passengers was about half full.
I joined the crew at the airlines’ operations unit where the ground ops. manager handed over the necessary papers: the filed flight plan for ATC (Air Traffic Control) and all other operational documents. The crew studied the weather charts: the Captain let his F/O calculate the total amount of fuel to be uploaded, based on the weather situation. It looked like we had to face a typical European January day. At Brussels airport the visibility was just around 7 km-s with fairly low cloud ceiling at around 600 feet and some drizzle. Rain and snow were forecast for the en-route alternate aerodromes and also at our destination. A cold front moving towards the south of Italy might have some turbulence and icing during the descent and we might see some thunderstorm activity at and around Naples. The 8.5 tonnes of fuel should be sufficient to reach our destination and fly to our alternate diversion airport (in this case Rome Fiumicino) plus it should give us at least 45 minutes of navigational reserve too.
The weather is not the only problem today. Looking at the NOTAM (Notices to Airmen) published by the Italian Authorities the crew read that some crucial navigational equipment was out of service. First of all the ILS (Instrument Landing System) serving Naples’ runway 24 was down. Secondly on runway 06 the glide path of the ILS was not operational depriving the crew the possibility of a precision approach. Another important navigational aid, the TEA (Teano) VOR (Very High Frequency Omni-directional Range) was also unreliable. Bad news all around but the crew had to find a solution for the approach.
Establishing himself in the right hand seat F/O Claes calculated the take off speeds, appropriate for the wet runway: he deducted 10 knots due to the increased braking distance which gave 127 knots as V1, 142 knots as Vr and 145 knots V2.
The CFM56 engines on this 737-300 are rated at 22kN as opposed to the other Classics of the company which are at 20kN. The reason for this is that Brussels Airlines will send the aircraft on a contract to Africa (Korongo Airlines will lease the aircraft for operations out of Lumumbashi, Kongo, to operate it on a route between Lumumbashi and Kinshasa) and a higher rated engine is necessary in those operating conditions.
During today’s take off the engines would be working at approximately 60% of their maximum rated power. The crew set up the navigational frequencies then a briefing covering all aspects of the planned SID (Standard Instrument Departure) – SOPOK 2J – followed. The paperless cockpit concept hasn’t reached the airlines’ Classics yet so there was a lot of paperwork: the crew members checked they had the same publication dates on their SID charts and were using the most up-to-date version. A weak northerly breeze was being reported reaching 7 knots and hence they expected runway 07 right for departure. The crew set up the frequencies of the most important radio-navigational aids for the SID: HUL (Huldenberg) and SPI (Sprimont) on the navigation panel. Since Gregory was the PF he briefed the procedures to be followed in case of an engine failure before or after V1.
Our flight was assigned the ATC call-sign BEL6YG (Bee-line 6 Yankee Golf) which is used in the communications with ATC, but commercially it was called SN3169. The call-sign “Brussels Airlines” gave rise to complaints almost from day one. Pilots as well as controllers complained that it was too long and was also confusing when flying in Belgium, what with so many other things (airport, VOR) also tagged as “Brussels”. Inspired by the letter “B” on the tail, the new call-sign “Bee Line” was introduced on 7 November 2007. By the way, that B, built up of red dots created its own problems when the first aircraft was repainted after the merger with Virgin Express. Somebody spotted (too late as it was already up on the tail of two aircraft) that there were 13 dots… an ominous number that could not be left like that. The planes went back to the paint shop to get new Bs made of 14 dots. (It is also interesting to note that 14 is actually not a lucky number in Italy. But luckily nobody spotted that at our destination!)
Following Captain De Paepe’s request, Clearance Delivery issued 0110 as the SSR (Secondary Surveillance Radar) code, called a squawk, to be set on the transponder, the route clearance confirming the runway in use and the SID and they gave us the initial climb clearance to 6000 feet. Pushing back from stand 149, engine number 2 was started followed by number 1. Flaps were set at position 5, followed by the “Before Taxi” checklist. The “Ground” controller gave the crew the taxi clearance via taxiways “Inners and Zulu” and instructed us to hold short at Runway 07 Right, position 1. Before taxi all the control surface movements were thoroughly cross checked. According to company policy no checks are done anymore during taxi: this has become an important anti runway incursion tool as the crew can concentrate fully on the surrounding environment, and maintain situational awareness. We had to wait for a Singapore Cargo B747-400 to land on runway 02 in front of us then BEL6YG was cleared for take-off from Runway 07 Right. The crew checked once more that both sides were “clear” and no unexpected aircraft were visible then Gregory who was the “pilot flying” on our first leg began the take off roll. Taking note of the positive rate of climb gears were retracted, then passing 3200 feet the flaps as well. Gregory flew the SOPOK 2J standard departure procedure which is also a strict noise abatement procedure.
According to the prescribed procedure when passing 1700 feet he turned the jet to the right to intercept radial 351 from the Huldenberg VOR which is located to the south of Brussels. From that navigational aid he had to intercept radial 288 from the SPI (Sprimont) VOR and follow that track through the waypoints BULUX then SOPOK joining airway UY863. In the meantime the B737 crossed 4500 feet altitude which is set as transition altitude in the Brussels FIR. Below that, altitude is shown in feet, above Flight Levels (FL) are used based on the standard pressure of 1013 hectopascals which was set and cross checked on both altimeters. Brussels ACC instructed us to climb to FL170 and turn direct to ETENO. At FL100 the engine anti-ice was switched off and Frank performed the so called FLAP check: this simple check list made sure that fuel, lights, the APU, the pressurization and passenger signs were all checked. Having issued a clearance to FL240 Brussels ACC then transferred our flight to Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre. The division level between these ATC units is FL245. Maastricht Radar’s “OLNO” sector was busy as always. The fast speaking controller issued further climb clearance up to FL310. We could clearly see the reason why, both through the windshield and on the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS): a Thomas Cook Boeing was passing in the opposite direction 1000 feet above us. Maastricht turned us to TGO (Tango) VOR and instructed us to climb to FL350. The planned route on the airway UL607 took us through most of Southern Germany while we were in contact with the various sectors of Rhein and Munich (Munchen) Radar.
We crossed the western corner of Austrian airspace over Innsbruck airport and admired the spectacular background provided by the snow covered Alps. Padova Radar sent us via the waypoints NATAG and VALEN towards our destination. Frank explained that in case of an engine failure the B737 could maintain FL280, but in case of a double engine failure the aircraft could glide from our cruising altitude of FL370 as far as Zurich airport 110 nautical miles away. But the CFM56 engines were working fine and the crew’s only slight concern was the light turbulence we flew through just north of the city of Bologna. Soon it was time to start the preparations for the approach at Naples. As published by NOTAM both the TEA VOR/DME (Distance Measuring equipment) and also PNZ (Potenza) VORTAC were down and the ILS glide slope for runway 06 was also unavailable. The crew decided to prepare for the worst scenario which in this case was a non-precision approach. That means no altitude information is available electronically. As soon as we were in range, the crew listened to the ATIS information frequency: the wind from 020 degrees at 8 knots meant that runway 06 was in use. Visibility was 8 km and there were broken clouds reported at 1000 feet and overcast at 5000 feet. Our aircraft was certified for Category III./A landing which means the crew could land with as little as 50 feet cloud ceiling and with just 200 meters of visibility. We were heading towards the waypoint ISKIA (located on the island of Ischia) and when requesting descent from Roma Radar the controller approved the initial descent. By this time the missed approach procedure had been discussed using the approach plate for localizer at Naples’ runway 06 and the minimum terrain clearance altitudes were also checked.
The crew knew that the nearby Sorrento VOR was operational so they set the ADF on the SOR frequency. Switching to 124.35 Napoli Radar cleared the descent to 7000 feet using the pressure altitude of 1006 hPa and told us to expect a localiser approach to runway 06, informing us that we were number 3 in the approach sequence. The windscreen wipers showed that ice was accumulating so the crew assumed that the same thing could be happening on the wing surfaces, therefore wing anti ice was also needed. As Gregory continued descending the jet he gradually brought the indicated airspeed back to 210 knots and setting flaps 1 at 4000 feet. Approaching over the Mediterranean Sea, Napoli Radar turned us to heading 090 and at 3000 altitude cleared us for localiser 06. We were still in clouds when flaps 5 was requested and Gregory established the Boeing on the localiser. As we broke through the clouds the background was dominated by the sight of the volcano Vesuvio but we had only a short time to enjoy the spectacular approach over the hills and the city. At 9 NM out we got our landing clearance and Frank lowered the landing gear deploying flaps to 25 degrees. After a smooth touchdown we were directed to Naples Capodichino airports’ stand 52.
Turning around the aircraft did not take long and while we were waiting for the homebound passengers Frank requested 5.3 tonnes of fuel to be tanked. He did the walk-around checks and prepared the aircraft for a “left hand seat take off” as he was going to be the “Pilot Flying” on the second leg. The weather had improved and visibility was reported at more than 10 kilometers with some broken clouds at 2600 feet. We used the call-sign BEL57D on the way back. The initial route clearance approved our filed flight plan route and assigned the ISKIA 6A SID from runway 06 and instructed us to climb to 6000 feet. All the checks had been executed before we taxied behind an Air Italy aircraft to the holding point of runway 06. It was impossible not to notice that all communications on the tower frequency took place in Italian. Lining up on runway 06 one had to realize there was quite some terrain ahead facing take-off traffic. In the summer this often results in restrictions on the maximum take-off mass. This time the following take-off speeds were calculated: V1=130, Vr=135 and V2=139 knots. Rolling down the 8622 feet (2628 meters) long asphalt runway, Frank lifted off the 737 and called Napoli Radar which turned us towards PNZ VOR (Potenza). The indicated airspeed showed 210 knots which gave us a comfortable 1600 feet/minute rate of climb. When we called 127.35, Roma Radar sent us to RIFFI point. The captain was flying the aircraft manually until reaching 10000 feet then engaged the autopilot while Gregory did the communications and the administration since it’s the pilot non-flying who keeps the flight plan updated. Communications between the Flemish-speaking captain and the French-speaking First Officer took place in English. To stay “connected” with the aircraft and keep the basic flying skills up-to-date, Brussels Airlines encourages its crews to fly the departure and part of the approach manually. We climbed to FL 360 our requested cruising level in several steps while setting course to ELB (ELBA) VOR. Our flight plan route on UM729 took us along the western coastline of Italy over the city of Milano, entering Swiss airspace over MOLUS to arrive on the UN853 that took us to the Benelux border at DIK (Diekirch) VOR in Luxemburg.
Frank had the time to give me a little overview of the B737’s history. This type was the first Boeing jet without a Flight Engineer. This was one of the reasons for the setup of the overhead instrument panels. These panels are not in the direct line of sight of the pilots thus Boeing had to come up with a system that could replace the F/E’s monitoring and warning procedures. The solution was to have the overhead warnings displayed on the “Master Caution” and the “Failure Anunciator Panel” that directs the pilot’s attention to the error messages. At the beginning the 737 was a “Captain’s aircraft”. The procedures were such that most of the job had to be done by the captain. In the last decades these procedures evolved to a system where workload is now more evenly distributed and shared by the crew. Perhaps the last remaining element of this old school model is the procedure which says the captain has to start the engine but Frank expects this to also change soon.
In the meantime Milano Radar sent us to AOSTA then we got the next route clearance from Geneva who after a squawk change directed us towards PENDU. We had time to enjoy sunset over the Swiss Alps which offered a breathtaking view of the Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. From FL 360 the beauty of the scenery is almost indescribable. Darkness comes fast though and it was time to call Reims radar who offered us a 185 NM direct portion to DIK VOR. We again encountered moderate turbulence because of the sudden change in the wind velocity. South of Luxemburg airport Maastricht Radar surprised us with a great direct when the controller sent BEL57D direct to GSY (Gosly) waypoint which is located near Charleroi airport and looked like a perfect turning point for us to intercept the localiser of the active landing runway 02 in Brussels. Weather improved during the day as a high pressure area was moving towards Belgium and now the ATIS reported visibility of more than 10 km and few clouds at 2100 feet and broken at 2900 feet. Today the arrival traffic to Brussels was relatively light and because of the weekend no military areas were active. Usually on a busy day the arrival procedure to runway 02 is much more complicated and involves a lot of radar vectors. Today was different: from GSY we were turned straight to the ILS of runway 02 shaving off quite a few minutes from the flying time and saving fuel also. We were fully established on the glide path when Gregory called Brussels tower on 120.775. Landing clearance followed and Frank performed a nice touchdown exactly on the “piano keys”. Our taxi clearance instructed us to follow the taxiways Echo 6 and Romeo 6towards stand 165 Right where our aircraft came to a stop.
This flight was routine in every aspect, just like the hundreds of other 737 flights are every day. However, the winglets on this Classic warrior have made a difference. While they did not alter the characteristics of the 737, they do make the 737/300 fly like a heavier 400 series. Glide ratio is better at lower speeds, which is a logical consequence of the diminished induced drag. Winglets did ensure increased efficiency, saving fuel for Brussels Airlines and reducing emissions for the benefit of everyone. The 737 is one of the most successful Boeing aircraft ever and winglets have given them new, welcome capabilities.
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