Author: Gareth

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Video: Why are the 737 engines flat?

This week’s video describes why the 737 engines have their iconic shape.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. When was the original 737 designed?
  2. What characteristic made it easier to be loaded with baggage?
  3. When did this characteristic become an issue for the design of the plane?
  4. What was the solution to this issue?
  5. How is this issue affected by the landing procedure?
  6. Why is the engine a lot wider than it is high?
  7. How is the ground clearance different on the MAX?

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Have a great weekend!

Why are the Boeing 737NG engines FLAT?

Have you ever noticed that the lower part of the Boeing 737NG engines appear flat? What is the reason for this and a few more interesting details will be covered in todays video. Enjoy!

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Structure: ‘all vs every 2’

Previously we talked about ‘all vs every’ here. This time in our structure help we intend to add some more information about these two words and talk about some specific situations where students make mistakes. Let’s look at some of those.

Firstly, when we talk about people, we don’t use ‘all’, so we can’t say ‘all people’. In this type of situation we normally say ‘everybody’ or ‘everyone’. We can however, say ‘all of us / you / them’, but this is less common than ‘everyone’ or ‘everybody’.

We can’t normally use ‘all’ without a noun. We can’t say ‘all was good’, we have to say ‘everything / everyone was good’.

We can use all to mean ‘the only thing’, so we can say ‘all I said was that it is a good idea’.

Even though it seems incorrect, ‘every / everybody / everyone / everything are singular words so they require singular verb conjugations.

Everyone takes their seat after boarding a plane.
Everything makes sense now that you explained it to me.

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Have a great day!

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Video answers: How Airlines Price Flights

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It was chosen because it’s one of the most competitive routes in US and thus one where pricing strategies are very important.
  2. The cheapest fare is $129 and it’s this cheap because Tuesdays are less popular for business travellers and thus have to be cheaper for leisure travellers.
  3. It’s interesting because there is price matching going on with this fare. When this price is available it’s because other airlines are also charging this price and each one is matching each other to remain competitive.
  4. They would do this as a way to drive another airline off that particular route, as when a bigger carrier drops the price significantly on one of their routes that has recently been taken up by a another, often, low-cost carrier. The bigger carrier can absorb the loss on this route for much longer, while the smaller one has to stop operating the route to remain profitable.
  5. A certain number of tickets are sold at each price point, when that number of tickets are sold, the price point increases to the next category. Sometimes though, the price will increase automatically because the of the proximity of the departure date, regardless of how many tickets have previously been sold. There can also be seasonal variations for these prices.
  6. The return flight is cheaper because it includes a minimum stay requirement of seven days at the destination, while the one-way ticket has no minimum stay requirement. This minimum-stay requirement policy allows airlines to discriminate against business travellers and require them to pay more for their fares.
  7. They have very different prices depending on the competition on the route, with more competition, the route becomes cheaper.

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Video: How Airlines Price Flights

This week’s video describes how airlines price their flights. Watch the video to find out how they do it.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Why was the New York to Los Angeles route chosen as the example?
  2. What is the cheapest fare on this route and why is it so cheap?
  3. What is interesting about the 2nd cheapest price category?
  4. Why would airlines drop their prices to a level that made them unprofitable?
  5. How does an airline decide when to increase the cost of a flight to higher category?
  6. Why is the return flight from New York to London cheaper than the one-way flight?
  7. Why do routes of similar distances have very different prices?

Follow us on twitter here, Facebook here or Google+ here for more great content!

Have a great weekend!

How Airlines Price Flights

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Video answers: The plane of the future

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It regretted the decision to end production of the 757 program.
  2. It has left them with the problem of not having a modern plane with between 231 and 358 seats.
  3. The market wants a middle-of-market plane that can fly longer distances and carry 250+ passengers.
  4. Boeing plans to make a middle-of-market plane with between 225 and 260 seats. Boeing intends to call it 797.
  5. Airbus is offering the A321LR as a solution, but it’s not quite as big as the airlines would like and will probably only be used temporarily until the 797 is built.
  6. Manufacturers are looking into electric planes that could make flying competitive in price with trains or even buses.
  7. It might be particularly useful for shorter regional routes, between 200 and 400 miles in distance.

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Video: The plane of the future

Fly High English - Video

This week’s video describes what the future trends in plane design and size might be. Watch to find out more!

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. What decision did Boeing make that it regretted soon afterwards?
  2. What problem has this left for Boeing?
  3. What does the market want?
  4. What is Boeing’s plan?
  5. What is Airbus’ offering?
  6. In the longer term, what do the manufacturers have in mind to continue developing?
  7. What journey might this new development be particularly useful for?

Follow us on twitter here, Facebook here or Google+ here for more great content!

Have a great weekend!

What’s Actually the Plane of the Future

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