Originally Posted by
sailingfun
It’s scope compliant but does not make economic sense. The aircraft is really a 82 seater in a normal configuration. The majors are hedging their bets they can reconfigure them to 76 seats in the next round of contracts. I don’t see that happening.
This is a double-hedge. Kirby expects them to relax the scope at UAL. I don't see that happening. The UAL pilot group seems very unified on this issue. But there are still two options on the table:
1) UAL adds another Small Narrow Body (SNB) to their mainline fleet. This 'unlocks' the possibility for more 'regional' 76-seaters. The 175s are then reconfigured as such.
Kirby only says that they are to replace the 70-pax CRJ700s in order to hide his true intentions.
2) If UAL's regionals are not able to keep going, these aircraft could (further on down the road) be brought to mainline and flown as 82-pax jets there.