Originally Posted by
WHACKMASTER
I’m a huge fan of the A-220 as well and if I was GK and had the purchasing power of SWA I’d try to score an order for 500 A-220s at a MASSIVE discount. We have 500+ -700NGs to replace and some of them are getting quite worn.
The A-220 is a superior airplane to the MAX7 that it compares to in size. Pilots, pax, and even the accountants have reason to like it better than a Boeing product, but here’s the rub.....
Unless you work for SWA, you cannot grasp how resistant to change senior management is and how it takes them eons to implement any change once they’ve decided to make it. It’s pathetic to watch. Our IT department/development is utterly impotent. For crying out loud, we can’t even take foreign currency yet and this is something that’s been identified as a problem for years. Our WiFi is garbage and has been for years as well.
So while I too am praying we get the A-220, I just don’t see it happening until GK is gone and someone seemingly more forward thinking like Tom Nealon or Andrew Watterson takes the helm.
I hear you. That said, maybe Gary would be interested in an A220 with an even better CASM just like Air France apparently is:
https://simpleflying.com/air-france-airbus-a220-500/
Of course there is internal resistance to change - but that is what good leadership is for... The MAX situation clearly exposed the risks of a single-fleet, sole-supplier strategy and even former 737-only Ryanair and Westjet have added other fleet types. C’mon Gary!!!!
Would love to see SWA as US launch customer for the potential A220-500 which would beat the 737-700/800NG across all economic metrics... No doubt a big potential order from the Granddaddy LCC would help to influence the decision to move forward with the 500 version of the A220 down the line....