Originally Posted by
contrails
Hold on a minute, just because DL doesn't have it doesn't mean it's a POS...I have read writeups on sites such as flyertalk about passengers now trying to book themselves on a 380 given a choice when it's convenient...after riding on it myself I must agree -- it is superior to everything else out there. Only the 787 might be able to compete in terms of cabin comfort.
DL needs to order some, or some 747-800s!
You mean the 747-8 that is range limited because a full tail tank causes flutter?
Just kidding, be careful what you wish for.
Right now DAL flies 2/3 of the EASK of the Transatlantic JV but is 6-8 percentage pointers below the EASK share of the European side.
Should Delta go to larger aircraft, and it will, the number of pilots required for Delta's Transatlantic service will go down significantly.
The most likely aircraft DAL will order near term is the 777-300 because it's seating capacity is right between the 744 and the 333. Unfortunately for pilot jobs it also has the most cargo volume of any of the others, even the A380. Since cargo capacity goes into the EASK formula, that means for production balance purposes one 777-300 will replace nearly 2 7ERs...
AFKLM/AZ plan for the next three years (2012-2014) to increase capacity by a just over 5% on a cumulative basis.
FWIW They did institute pay freezes at AF and reduced raises at KLM...
BTW How will the Alitalia Blue Panorama merger affect the production balance for the Transatlantic JV?
Cheers
George