That wouldn’t solve the problem necessarily. The problem is different types and a seniority system that doesn't permit type specific furloughs. Take the Delta A220s. Or whatever the junior aircraft type is in any airline. How many of the senior people are rated in them? When you have nine different fleet types and can’t furlough by type, even if it is just random assignment and not stratified by pay scale, the training costs become huge for any downsizing.

The ability to fly the A318, 319, 320, CEOs, NEOs and XLR by everyone at the airline is a huge advantage, as is commonality of parts and maintenance. Strangely, Boeing pioneered the concept with the 757/767 joint type rating but then sort of let it get away from them.


But with a common 320 family type a pilot can fly anything from a 130 pax 3200 nautical mile range aircraft up to a 240 pax 4000 nautical mile aircraft. Savings on training and maintenance logistics are huge.