It's not just about width and range, it's about length as well. It turns out size does matter.

In Sept 2001, L-UAL had 9 airplane types, 10,500 pilots, and 10 pilot domiciles. The long term plan was to reduce to 4 airplane types: A319/320, B757/B767, B777, B747-400.

Today we have 6 airplane types, 12,500? pilots, and 9 pilot domiciles. The long term goal is to reduce to 4 airplane types: B737, B787, B777, A350. I highly doubt we will buy any new A319/320's or B767's. I'm glad to hear about the used A319's, but they are a stopgap measure.

If you look at L-UAL at the dawn of the wide body era in the 1960's we had 4 jet types: B727, DC-8, DC-10, B747. Pretty much the same mission. Oh yeah, we also had RJ's, but we called them B737's and they were flown by United pilots.

If you look at the size and mission of the 5 airplane types they are remarkably similar: "RJ", Small, Med-Small, Med-large, and Large.

When the manufactures try to stretch airplanes to meet two different missions they end up with POS airplanes. The B737-900 is the first Boeing I've flown that I've been ashamed to call a Boeing. For those of you who have flown the B757-300 or B767-400 are those any different?