Originally Posted by
RockyBoy
It was a great aircraft, but nobody was buying them. If you have a large fleet of 737's why would you buy a single isle 757 that seats about 10 more pax than a 737-900? Boeing's replacement 757 airframe is the 737-900ER which isn't really a replacement.
Airbus has it figured out when it comes to fleet commonality issues for singe isle aircraft. The savings Airbus products can generate in crew training/staffing costs alone is huge. The 321 with sharklets and the NEO will actually be a viable transcon aircraft that performs well which will be a game changer in the narrowbody fleeting of airlines due to the cost savings of fleet commonaltiy. That's why everyone is ordering Airbus products right now IMO.
Fair enough. Both companies have their strengths and weaknesses. That said the A321 (NEO or not) and the B739 will never, ever be a B757 replacement. EVER!! I see DL/AA/UA (really CO) in Europe all the time with their 757-200s. The best the A321 NEO could hope for is a Transcon US flight year-round.
IMO, Boeing has done with the B737 what Bombardier has done with the CRJ- they've over-stretched.
I see a heavy 737-900 going down the runway and I think of an overweight duck waddling over a waterfall desperately trying to get airborne (it's worse than a heavy A-340 and that's pretty bad). I just wish they'd put half as much effort into further improving the 757 as they'd put into the 737. I am sure we'd have a winner on our hands.
I agree that Airbus has done well the commonality; it's genius, actually. I've jump-seated on a few 737-NGs and I always look up at the overhead panel and say whiskey tango fox. Additionally, (in my mind) I can still see the round dials behind the LCDs.
Arguably, Boeing made a good business decision at the time, pleasing WN. However, it's caused them to fall behind here in the present.