Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

717's and ... what about the new RJ's that are predicated on the 717's? This thing has the potential to snow ball. Remember all the talk of the opportunity this transaction provided? We already got our C2012 money. Now management is not getting it's payback (I guess due to some silliness about modifying an already airworthy design (or at least as airworthy as a Douglas product ever is)). Meanwhile qualified 717's crews will start to de-qual or fly a lot of empty legs. (I'd love to charter one BTW ... hmmm wonder if under Part 91...)

With Delta's Aviation Partners Boeing experience and overall high level of MRO expertise, it's a bit surprising that we undertook a modification of a Boeing product, probably without Boeing support, following sequestration. Boeing hates for operators to modify anything (in Boeing's view, how can anyone improve on perfection) so they hold it up, charge a King's ransom for engineering support, then write the FAA and claim the modifications are unsafe and the airplane should be grounded, or fly with significant restrictions.

Aviation Partners Boeing got around all of this by (as their name states) partnering with Boeing and basically giving Boeing engineering support and maybe cash that Boeing did little to nothing to earn in exchange for not fighting them.

Moral of the story; Boeing exists to sell new airplanes. They take a dim view of anyone improving an old airplane rather than buying a new one. I do not know that Boeing is involved in this, but frequently this plays out this way.

Of course, the FAA has recently taken a couple of black eyes for percieved failures in Certification oversight (namely 787 and G-650). I'm sure they've got their gain turned up.