Originally Posted by flyallnite (Post 1243665)

They will become part of the already existing 737-7/8 categories. That's one of the major reasons we ordered this instead of the Airbus, and why the 757 production line has stopped. Put simply, there are already too many 737's flying around the world to not build more. The pilots, mechanics, parts and simulators are already in place, so the cost of adding a "new" aircraft to the fleet becomes far less. Additionally, if a crew is flying in a 737-800 to say, Pittsburgh, they can fly the 737-900 out in the morning (as opposed to a 757) instead of having to wait for an 800 to come in. Makes for shorter layovers and more productivity from the pilots.

As a pilot though, it's disappointing to see 50 year old technology and design being used on what could have been a clean sheet design that incorporates the many technological advances we've made in half a century... all due to economics. I can't think of another industry that has been at the cutting edge of science and is now so hamstrung by governmental and corporate budgets. Think about it- most higher end cars have far more advanced technology on board than do our current batch of airliners.

The only thing I can imagine that will put the 737 out of production is an enormous leap forward in aerodynamic design, such as a flying wing, or materials technology that makes producing a 737 clone uneconomical. Neither of these possibilities are on the horizon now, and the 737 MAX makes them that much more remote.

Originally Posted by RunFast (Post 1243792)

Guess the 319/320/321 category wouldn't have worked...:rolleyes:

Originally Posted by flyallnite (Post 1243796)

I'm sure they could have made that work also... but Delta already had options for the 737-800 that they exchanged for the -900ER, and the older A320's are headed for the boneyard. Airbus hasn't made a deal with Delta in a long, long time. It will be interesting to see if they make a play this winter for some business from us.

Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp (Post 1243795)

... the 321NEO is going to be a monster of an airplane- performing close to on par with a 757 with far greater efficiency.

Originally Posted by flyallnite (Post 1243803)

I hadn't heard that. If it's true, then Boeing has their work cut out for them because nothing comes close to the 757 right now.

I'm sure price was a factor also. But the -900 slots in much better with the 800 on a lot of routes we fly. The Airbus is doing a lot of smaller city/charter work that doesn't see the 757 on a regular basis. From that standpoint, the Boeing makes sense. It will be a mainstay on east coast to ATL routes. I just don't think it's a great transcon machine, but no doubt we'll all be cramming into it for those. Oh, and losing the 757 and Airbus jumpseat to a 737 jumpseat really sucks for all of us.

Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp (Post 1243805)

The 319/320 are doing the smaller city work because they don't have the entertainment system. That is it. Despite all the talk of doing so, not a single former Northwest narrowbody has been equipped with IFE.

edit: check out the data on the 321NEO- that is a big airplane with really big engines.

Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp (Post 1243805)

The 319/320 are doing the smaller city work because they don't have the entertainment system. That is it. Despite all the talk of doing so, not a single former Northwest narrowbody has been equipped with IFE.

edit: check out the data on the 321NEO- that is a big airplane with really big engines.

The 900ER is a low priced stop gap until the next generation aircraft come to being. That is it.

Originally Posted by flyallnite (Post 1243809)

Well, the 800 does have a larger first class cabin and a few more coach seats, and the IFE is really just some overhead monitors which I would think would be really easy to pop into the Airbus.

I will check out the 321NEO, sounds interesting.

The only (new) airplane that comes to mind that DL ordered and then dumped a few years later is the MD-11, and they flew that thing for a decade. I wouldn't count on the -900ER being here for a shorter span than that.

Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp (Post 1243811)

Quite a few of the 800s and all of the 700s have the Panasonic in seat IFE.

By the 900ER being a stop gap, I mean that it will be around for a long time, but it is used to be a cheap replacement for older aircraft that need to be parked prior to the availability of the true next gen aircraft with new engine technology.

Some trivia- NW actually installed TVs and monitors on the earliest 320s almost 20 years ago, but it was removed to save weight and add more seats shortly afterward.