Originally Posted by
UncleSam
The one comment:
On September 16, 2012, at 2:45 PM, tbirdreg wrote:
The observations about Delta are right on target. When I worked at NWA, which was absorbed by Delta 4 years ago, we had Anderson as the CEO. It was the same story.... lack of consumer confidence, poor fleet efficiency, and reinvesting too slowly or not at all. That is what cause NWA to go down the tubes. Now Delta has adopted that same strategy. The latest is the leasing of AirTran/Southwest's used Boeing 717, they are in effect replacing the DC9-50s which are 40+ years old with a new version of the airplane no one wants to fly on.
I agree with your premise that Delta is Northwest airlines with a new logo. But, we are more fuel efficient than folks give us credit for. I enjoy MD88 bashing more than anyone; it isn't that bad once you get it up to altitude. The MD90 beats the 737 and A320 on short routes. The 717 is an outlier, but for its mission nothing but a CRj1000 is cheaper.
Of course the 737-900 will improve our numbers at the expense of forgetting the APU every now and then on the after TO check
