Can Planes Get in Midair Traffic Jams?

Why can't they just fly around one another?
By Jake Melville

Just before Thanksgiving, President Bush announced a number of measures intended to mitigate commercial airline delays over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. One of the measures included opening up military airspace over the East Coast to ease congestion. Seeing as the skies above are pretty wide open, is there such a thing as a midair "traffic jam?"

Yes. Passenger jets and corporate jets flying long distances must fly on one of just 12 routes running north-south along the East Coast, or others that crisscross the nation. The same commercial airways have been administered by the Federal Aviation Administration for decades, and it's a long, slow process to map out a new one. (Because of environmental regulations, this can take up to 20 years.) Still, the established routes do have enough capacity to handle the thousands of flights each day in the United States, but airports don't always have enough runways to land them all—and that creates backups.

Only a certain number of planes can fly the same route at the same time. Because of the limited range of radar signals and imprecise altimeters, the FAA requires that all passenger jets, corporate jets, and personal planes maintain strict separation standards to mitigate the risk of midair collisions. Planes flying at the same altitude must be either three miles or five miles apart, depending on the type of radar system used. (The newer equipment allows for closer flying.) Two planes can also fly one on top of another, so long as they maintain a 1,000-foot vertical separation.

A sector of airspace reaches its maximum capacity when there's so much traffic that planes are close to violating the separation standards. If a given route becomes too crowded—or if bad weather makes portions of it unsafe for flight—air-traffic controllers will deny other planes access and send them onto another airway. Another option is to transfer planes onto open military airspace over the ocean. If the military knows that a particular sector of its airspace will be unused, it can offer the real estate to the FAA for commercial flights.

It doesn't matter how many planes a route can hold if there aren't enough runways to land them. If an airport fills up on the ground, then incoming planes must be placed into holding patterns. That means that other planes seeking to enter the airspace around the airport might need to be redirected so as not to violate the separation standards. In crowded and busy airspace, such as that above New York City or Chicago, these delays could have repercussions far down the line.

Explainer thanks John Hansman Jr. of the MIT International Center for Air Transportation, Paul Takemoto of the Federal Aviation Administration, and Brian Turmail of the U.S. Department of Transportation

The Safest Seat on Any Plane

How to play the numbers on the big roulette wheel in the sky

When we think of a plane crash, we typically think of a catastrophic event, of an aircraft plummeting from the sky. But the majority of accidents involving planes also involve something else: survivors. Hard landings, bad takeoffs, runway collisions, loss of control, and other survivable events make up roughly 56 percent of airplane accidents. And your chances of escaping with your skin intact may change depending on where you're seated. Why? Because most people who die in survivable crashes aren't killed by the impact; they die instead from toxic smoke inhalation immediately afterward. Getting out alive comes down to two factors: surviving the impact, and getting out fast. So sitting in the middle of the plane is not a particularly good bet, since on many planes you're sitting over the center fuel tank. And if the wing tanks are ruptured, vaporized fuel can quickly explode. A general guideline: Your chances of survival increase the most if you score a seat by an emergency exit near the rear of the plane. There are two reasons why: First, sitting near an emergency exit simply means you can get out faster, without having to climb over anyone. Second, being in the back of the plane puts you farthest from the engines on most aircraft.

No one compiles statistics to confirm that one seat is safer than another, so these recommendations are based on anecdotal evidence and personal experience. Each aircraft is different, of course, but a few have seats that are clearly safer (and in many cases, more comfortable). Here's a quick rundown:

Plane Type: 757
Safest Seat: Seats 10A and 10F. Though these are window seats, there are no 9A and 9F seats to block your escape, and the exit doors are just a couple of feet in front of you.

Plane Type: 747
Safest Seat: Rows 61 through 64, closest to the window. The 747 tapers near the rear, and as a result, there are no window seats in those rows, just extra space to help you relax during a flight…and escape in a crash.

Plane Type: MD80
Safest Seat: Rows 21 and 22 have an extra eight inches of legroom because they are near the emergency exits. And they're far away from the engines, which are in the rear of this plane.

Plane Type: 737
Safest Seat: As far rear as possible.

For safety records of each individual airline and airplane type, check out airsafe.com . For seating charts, check out seatguru.com .

Cheap International Plane Tickets

By Steven Gillman

The best place to buy cheap international plane tickets is online. We've tried travel agencies and they can't compete with the discount ticket websites. You can search google ("cheap airfare South America", for example), or go straight to one of the well-known sites, like Expedia, Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, Hotwire or Priceline.

I just did a quick search for the cheapest airfare from Tucson, Arizona, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, using the five sites mentioned. They ranged from $1221 down to $873, and there were fares as high as $3728. Hotwire happened to have the cheapest, but they were the worst of the five when I searched for a domestic flight earlier. You cannot say which service will find the cheapest international plane tickets from week to week. My number one money-saving tip is to always check several websites when shopping for inexpensive flights.

My Accidental $1000 Discovery
Before going to Ecuador, I searched several websites that deal in cheap international plane tickets. The cheapest airfare from Traverse City, Michigan to Quito, was $1720. Out of curiosity, I checked Miami to Quito, and it was only $400. Airfare from Traverse City to Miami was $300.
Book two separate flights and save more than $1000! The discount sites aren't set up to check in this way (yet), so you have to do this on your own.

If your first flight is late and you miss the second, you may not get a refund, but it is still cheaper (every time I checked) to just book a flight to Miami and catch a flight to Quito without a reservation, thus avoiding this problem. This strategy is best for those in towns without international airports. If you live in Miami, you already have cheap international airfare.

Courier Flights
As an air courier, you can get really cheap international plane tickets. Courier companies ship material in the luggage space of an aircraft passenger because it can be quicker, cheaper, and more reliable than sending the shipment unaccompanied, since checked luggage bypasses many of the typical customs delays. The courier company begins by purchasing airfare, and then they resell the plane tickets to you. In exchange for your luggage space, they give you a discount on the airfare.

An Example Of A Courier Flight
I saved over $150 on my plane tickets this way when I went to Ecuador the first time. I had to walk several suitcases of car parts through customs, but there was a representative of the courier company on either end, and I did get to look inside the luggage, so I knew what I was carrying. I had to carry a plane propeller on the return trip, but it wasn't too much trouble, and made a good story.

Limitations To Courier Travel
You generally can only be an air courier if you travel alone. Once in a while, a courier company will have opportunities for flights on or near the same date. Otherwise, your travel partner can pay full fare on the same flight. You also can usually only bring carry-on luggage, since the point is for the shipping company to use your checked luggage allowance.

Really Cheap Courier Flights
Sometimes air couriers fly internationally for free, and almost always very cheap. It is a matter of how badly the company needs you and how flexible you can be (can you fly to Paris on Friday?). In general air courier opportunities are becoming rarer, due to the recent heavier regulation of international flights. There still are opportunities for cheap tickets, though. You can find out more at The Air Courier Association Website (www.aircourier.org). The ACA can also help you get really cheap plane tickets by way of airline ticket wholesalers, discounters, last minute specials, and stand-by travel.

More Tips On Cheap International Plane Tickets
When searching for fares using the discount websites, try several different departure and return dates if you can. The difference of a day or two can save you a lot. There is little logic to airfare pricing, so don't try too hard to figure it out. Just be aware that if you leave on Friday instead of Wednesday (or vice-versa), you may save $100.

Check the boxes that say "any time" for departure and "2 or more connecting flights". Even if you aren't sure that you want to leave at midnight, see what your options are-the savings might change your mind. Whenever the search criteria allow you choices, take the ones that are the least restrictive for the airlines. Again, if the savings aren't enough, you can always book first class, direct flights, or whatever you prefer.

Buying your plane tickets at least a week in advance is usually cheaper. Also, there can be a dramatic difference (but not always) if your trip is over thirty days. You may want to cut it from 32 days to 30 to save hundreds of dollars on your fare. Play with the dates on one of the websites mentioned. You never know what you might discover.

Want To Go Really Cheap?
You can take a bus to a major city, if you don't live in one, and then take an international flight from there to save quite a bit of money. My wife and I recently went to Ecuador for six weeks. The cheapest discount website plane tickets we could find were $3400 for the two of us. By taking a bus to Miami ($352 round-trip for 2), then flying from there to Quito ($622 round-trip for 2), we saved over $2400 - even after the taxi fare from the bus station to the airport. That's a lot of money to us, certainly worth an extra day-and-a-half on a bus. (The whole six weeks cost less than $2500.)

The bottom line is that if you spend a few minutes or an hour to do some research, you might save hundreds of dollars. Good luck and happy travels.

Steve Gillman first hit the road on his own when he was sixteen, and traveled alone across the United States and Mexico at 17. Now 40, he continues to travel with his wife Ana, who he met in Ecuador. His website, Everything About Travel has many of his travel stories, plus tips and information on travel in the U.S. and other countries. Going on a volcano tour and camping at Walmart are some of the more unique experiences documented.