Originally Posted by
Tomcat
I just received the annual aircraft issue of National Business Aircraft Association Magazine (NBAA) and the prices you quote above are correct. I just want to add, before anyone says you can buy a 700 or 800 for that amount, the FULL price quoted for the 737-700 was $75M and for the 737-800 was $80M. They also had the 319/320 prices in this issue and they were in line with the above prices, but I don't recall exact figures off hand. We all know that Delta pays a fraction of the above prices.
I wish I got that NBAA guide. I once heard the lease rates for XJT for its E145s and if they had gotten a standard lease rate the price was slightly less than half the asking price. Of course a year ago if you could find a used G550 you paid a few million over the new price, around $60-$65M, and a year and a half later you can buy low time 550s for $35M. Talk about taking a bath.
I'm curious about what AirTran paid for those TWA 717s and then for those 73Ns post 9/11. I heard they were as cheap as regional jets since they were the only ones growing after 9/11. Obviously there later purchases are not cheap enough since we evidently took a few of them from them.
Originally Posted by
Tomcat
It struck me that we could buy 2 190's for the price of one 800. Now I know there is so much more to consider when purchasing a piece of equipment, but I would be looking hard at the 190/195 or the C-series.
If we didn't have DC-9s I wonder if they'd look harder at 100 seaters. And if we didn't have DC-9s and we didn't have 76 seaters then I think we'd be talking about whether they're going to add to the existing fleet of 200 E-190s we have on property.
Originally Posted by
Tomcat
I'll just say that I believe there are other dynamics behind this "non decision". Perhaps it's buying time for negotiating power, perhaps these aircraft just are not what they want (they won't see a comparable a/c from Boeing or Airbus in there careers) or perhaps they see from a purely business perspective that it just doesn't make sense to have Delta pilots fly Delta aircraft. Perhaps it just doesn't make much sense to aircraft at all, just sell the seats. At the rate that Skywest has grown since I've been on the property, they could easily take over the remainder of the flying in the next decade. Maybe we keep the 777's & 787's for old times sake.
Can't agree more. I wonder how far would they allow things to go if they weren't restricted?
I'd optimistcally like to say the 767 fleet and up, maybe even the A320 and up.