Originally Posted by
Hacker15e
The biggest "news" I heard at ViB is that they're seriously looking at the acquisition of a widebody type airplane in the next few years. There is some trigger at an overall fleet size of 240 aircraft that makes JB ready to acquire a widebody for (assuming) trans-atlantic service.
In addition, they're interested in VX's A320s if the new Alaska decides to get rid of them. There is something about how VX's jets are configured compared to how B6's Airbii are configured that makes them more desirable; something about not being able to fly over the Andes currently, and that some VX jets are ETOPS.
Our A320s have only one O2 generator so we don't have enough oxygen for the pax to fly over the Andes. I forget the times. We have 15 minutes, but you need 30, perhaps? It limits our range into South America, since we have to go around instead of over.