If you have ever landed at ORD and your gate is either occupied or otherwise not ready, you often need to taxi to an area known as “the penalty box.” For some reason, it can take longer than the flight itself to reach the penalty box. I think they put it somewhere In Wisconsin….
Long wondered why it’s called The Penalty Box. All the pilot did was land, and all us passengers did was visit Chicago. Kidding aside, ORD my favorite airport anywhere in the world. A bunch of Pro’s Pros. How they keep that place open in worse conditions than just about anywhere is amazing.
Lastly, suggest you offer a special section for takeoffs from Rio. Even is old road dogs look at that one and think “who thought it was a good idea to put a runway there?”
ORD really is a masterclass in keeping things moving, especially in tough conditions. I have taxied once for more than 1 hour to the runway..Hats off to the crews there and ATC!
And Rio? Great call… those departures definitely keep you on your toes.
As a former cabin crew, I absolutely loved this! Your way of explaining technical details with calm and clarity is such a gift, I can only imagine how reassuring this must be for nervous flyers. Reading your breakdowns brought me right back to my own crew days, except now I’m living the “flying with a toddler” version of aviation life ✈️ Please keep writing these, the aviation theme is one of my favorite corners of Substack, and it’s such a joy to see a pilot’s perspective alongside it.
I fly a lot around the world and I know certain airports are so huge that one will endure long periods taxiing to and from the gate. Istanbul Airport is terrible for this reason. I try to avoid Turkish Airlines but sometimes, it’s the most convenient. Busy airports like Heathrow, another one to avoid, will keep you waiting on the ground or circling around for eternity. Amsterdam isn’t bad but when the wind is strong from a certain direction, the landings can be bumpy and you end up on a runway farthest from the gates. My favorite airport is Athens: small, efficient, good weather most of the time.
As for Tokyo, Haneda is way better than Narita. It’s a smaller airport, so you don’t have these long waits or endless circling. Of course, another strategy when going to Japan, is to choose to arrive in one of the small regional airports like Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Great observations, Esme! You’re spot on, airport size and layout can really shape the experience. I agree Haneda beats Narita hands down. Regional airports are often underrated too less chaos, quicker in and out!
Your answers from Seat 15F and 33C are spot on. Those long taxi times after landing, sudden go-arounds, and sitting on the tarmac before takeoff drive passengers crazy, but you explain the real reasons and the safety choreography behind every decision so clearly.
It turns frustration into understanding. That’s exactly what a good pilot does.
Appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions straight from the flight deck. Keep them coming.
Those moments you mentioned (the long taxi, the go-around, the waiting) can feel frustrating from the cabin, but there’s always a reason behind the scenes. If I can help turn that uncertainty into understanding, then I’m doing my job right.
Really appreciate you being here and taking the time to write this. I’ll keep sharing from the flight deck.
I’ve been on two go arounds. The first was at Santa Maria County Airport in CA in a puddle jumper when there was a dog on the runway. The other was on a heavy flying into MSP when ATC left a plane on the runway. Uneventful after the go around.
Having never had any anxiety while flying, this summer I had an actual aborted landing where we "touched" (with a big bump) and then quickly climbed and circled. Pilot explained they had chosen not to complete the landing as not enough room on the runway (I don't remember his exact words). The bump was alarming, but we all settled down quickly and waited for the second attempt! I did wonder if that was straightforward pilot error or if something technical happened that we weren't told about.
This is great. I laughed at the taxi part because my son has asked me why we do “laps” around the airport before parking. I told him it is basically rush hour traffic with wings. Glad you are giving nervous flyers the inside scoop. It really does help calm the ride.
As a pediatric ICU nurse, I used that analogy often with my families. I would tell them to watch my face- if it looks like things are getting bad in your child’s room, but my face looks calm and under control (just like the flight attendants do on the plane, even if there’s turbulence) then just sit tight.
Of course, I would be explaining things as they happened in real time but a lot of times, that helped families to stay a little calmer when things looked chaotic in the room .
Thank you for your reply. We just had to fly to Massachusetts a few weeks ago for the funeral of my youngest sister, and I was glad I had been reading your sub stack posts.
Back in the day (70's) when I did a decade for BA, it was a different time. We were using up hours on Comet 4B's. ( The first commercial jet aircraft). One time, we were attempting to land at our base, LGW and the instruments indicated the nosewheel wasn't in place, after a couple of passes at the Tower, P3 had to go down the hatch in the cockpit floor and manually wind the gear down! I watched him. Another flypast and we were given the thumbs up!
Then the time the nosewheel fell off during taxiing to the runway. Steering wheel turned too hard, wheel comes off, we evacuate 108 mad Italians from aircraft. Took nearly 2 hours to round them up. (LGW was small then, but lots of hangers and hidey holes!!!)
If you have ever landed at ORD and your gate is either occupied or otherwise not ready, you often need to taxi to an area known as “the penalty box.” For some reason, it can take longer than the flight itself to reach the penalty box. I think they put it somewhere In Wisconsin….
Long wondered why it’s called The Penalty Box. All the pilot did was land, and all us passengers did was visit Chicago. Kidding aside, ORD my favorite airport anywhere in the world. A bunch of Pro’s Pros. How they keep that place open in worse conditions than just about anywhere is amazing.
Lastly, suggest you offer a special section for takeoffs from Rio. Even is old road dogs look at that one and think “who thought it was a good idea to put a runway there?”
Love this, Steve—made me smile.
ORD really is a masterclass in keeping things moving, especially in tough conditions. I have taxied once for more than 1 hour to the runway..Hats off to the crews there and ATC!
And Rio? Great call… those departures definitely keep you on your toes.
Appreciate you being here. ✈️
As a former cabin crew, I absolutely loved this! Your way of explaining technical details with calm and clarity is such a gift, I can only imagine how reassuring this must be for nervous flyers. Reading your breakdowns brought me right back to my own crew days, except now I’m living the “flying with a toddler” version of aviation life ✈️ Please keep writing these, the aviation theme is one of my favorite corners of Substack, and it’s such a joy to see a pilot’s perspective alongside it.
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I fly a lot around the world and I know certain airports are so huge that one will endure long periods taxiing to and from the gate. Istanbul Airport is terrible for this reason. I try to avoid Turkish Airlines but sometimes, it’s the most convenient. Busy airports like Heathrow, another one to avoid, will keep you waiting on the ground or circling around for eternity. Amsterdam isn’t bad but when the wind is strong from a certain direction, the landings can be bumpy and you end up on a runway farthest from the gates. My favorite airport is Athens: small, efficient, good weather most of the time.
As for Tokyo, Haneda is way better than Narita. It’s a smaller airport, so you don’t have these long waits or endless circling. Of course, another strategy when going to Japan, is to choose to arrive in one of the small regional airports like Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Great observations, Esme! You’re spot on, airport size and layout can really shape the experience. I agree Haneda beats Narita hands down. Regional airports are often underrated too less chaos, quicker in and out!
Thank you Pilot Nick.
Your answers from Seat 15F and 33C are spot on. Those long taxi times after landing, sudden go-arounds, and sitting on the tarmac before takeoff drive passengers crazy, but you explain the real reasons and the safety choreography behind every decision so clearly.
It turns frustration into understanding. That’s exactly what a good pilot does.
Appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions straight from the flight deck. Keep them coming.
Desiree, this means a lot, thank you 🙏
Those moments you mentioned (the long taxi, the go-around, the waiting) can feel frustrating from the cabin, but there’s always a reason behind the scenes. If I can help turn that uncertainty into understanding, then I’m doing my job right.
Really appreciate you being here and taking the time to write this. I’ll keep sharing from the flight deck.
Did I miss the number of landings resulting in a go-around? One in two thousand? Five? More?
I’ve been on two go arounds. The first was at Santa Maria County Airport in CA in a puddle jumper when there was a dog on the runway. The other was on a heavy flying into MSP when ATC left a plane on the runway. Uneventful after the go around.
Having never had any anxiety while flying, this summer I had an actual aborted landing where we "touched" (with a big bump) and then quickly climbed and circled. Pilot explained they had chosen not to complete the landing as not enough room on the runway (I don't remember his exact words). The bump was alarming, but we all settled down quickly and waited for the second attempt! I did wonder if that was straightforward pilot error or if something technical happened that we weren't told about.
Another interesting post Nick. Especially the point about doing laps!
Thanks Janice!
This is great. I laughed at the taxi part because my son has asked me why we do “laps” around the airport before parking. I told him it is basically rush hour traffic with wings. Glad you are giving nervous flyers the inside scoop. It really does help calm the ride.
So when is it OK to suspect something bad? I try to watch the flight attendants’ faces.
Honestly, almost never. Flight attendants are trained to stay calm even in real emergencies, so if they look relaxed, you can be too.
As a pediatric ICU nurse, I used that analogy often with my families. I would tell them to watch my face- if it looks like things are getting bad in your child’s room, but my face looks calm and under control (just like the flight attendants do on the plane, even if there’s turbulence) then just sit tight.
Of course, I would be explaining things as they happened in real time but a lot of times, that helped families to stay a little calmer when things looked chaotic in the room .
Thank you for your reply. We just had to fly to Massachusetts a few weeks ago for the funeral of my youngest sister, and I was glad I had been reading your sub stack posts.
Thank you so much! 🙏🏻
Back in the day (70's) when I did a decade for BA, it was a different time. We were using up hours on Comet 4B's. ( The first commercial jet aircraft). One time, we were attempting to land at our base, LGW and the instruments indicated the nosewheel wasn't in place, after a couple of passes at the Tower, P3 had to go down the hatch in the cockpit floor and manually wind the gear down! I watched him. Another flypast and we were given the thumbs up!
Then the time the nosewheel fell off during taxiing to the runway. Steering wheel turned too hard, wheel comes off, we evacuate 108 mad Italians from aircraft. Took nearly 2 hours to round them up. (LGW was small then, but lots of hangers and hidey holes!!!)