Couple things. I’m not really sure the Leap1A(B) is a POS engine. It’s a brand new design with a lot of new technology that needs to be ironed out and it has. Is there anything in aviation that is new and just works amazing immediately? It takes time. The engine is super impressive. It burns considerably less fuel in every stage of the flight and for the 321 it carries 35 more people.

737 guys need to really think about the stuff that’s being said about the Airbus. I have talked to a lot of 73 guys that have just totally false information about the airplane. There seems to be a lot of misinformation spread about it from the management Boeing fanboys. Tech stops? There were only a handful over the 10 years at Virgin (spoiler alert every other airline flies 320s on transcons!) Odor events? Well that’s from not changing HEPA filters and using the wrong oil in the APU. Massive MELs because they are old? I would see an MEL maybe once a month before Alaska took over.

I don’t know what the second floor is but I would venture to say that anyone with a connection to legacy Alaska shouldn’t be consulted or believed about the fitness of the Airbus. Talk to a current Airbus pilot! There are serious conflicts of interest going on. We all can pretty much agree that there seems to be an effort to get rid of the Airbuses; which is a bummer, because they are superior airplanes in all the things that really matter to passengers. If you are skeptical go fly in the back of a 737 and then fly in the back of an Airbus. Flame on.