That's a pretty big shot across the bow at Boeing and Airbus. The 359 is a big plane... 777 size. The 330 is almost a 777 size plane, but much lighter and doesn't carry the gas to go twice around the world, hold over ODF for another couple hours, and only then divert to Nashville.

I need to fistbump RA next time for in so many words saying "we've done all we can do with the 737, come up with something new that can actually replace the 757."

Boeing is such a misguided company....

They'd taken effect before that window. That was March 2013 vs 2014, I thought the few (191 out of 10500) early retirement guys were required to be gone in 2012? I can't get 2012 numbers. I never saved those.

There's hope. If Techops can reverse engineer an aft strut fairing on the 767, why not reverse engineer the 757 and 717?

http://www.secrant.com/Images/Icons/Iconcheers.gif

Thats what I thought as well, which would mean that there is more of an overall loss in large WB positions.

I posted this in the safety forum, but some rather interesting facts have just been released.... the 777 kept talking to Boeing and reporting engine data for another 4ish hours!


From the WSJ: U.S. Investigators Suspect Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours - WSJ.com


U.S. investigators suspect that Malaysia Airlines 3786.KU -2.04% Flight 370 stayed in the air for about four hours past the time it reached its last confirmed location, according to two people familiar with the details, raising the possibility that the plane could have flown on for hundreds of additional miles under conditions that remain murky.
Aviation investigators and national security officials believe the plane flew for a total of five hours based on data automatically downloaded and sent to the ground from the Boeing Co. BA -0.99% 777's engines as part of a routine maintenance and monitoring program.
That raises a host of new questions and possibilities about what happened aboard the widebody jet carrying 239 people, which vanished from civilian air-traffic control radar over the weekend, about one hour into a flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

That raises a host of new questions and possibilities about what happened aboard the widebody jet carrying 239 people, which vanished from civilian air-traffic control radar over the weekend, about one hour into a flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.
Six days after the mysterious disappearance prompted a massive international air and water search that so far hasn't produced any results, the investigation appears to be broadening in scope.
U.S. counterterrorism officials are pursuing the possibility that a pilot or someone else on board the plane may have diverted it toward an undisclosed location after intentionally turning off the jetliner's transponders to avoid radar detection, according to one person tracking the probe.

The investigation remains fluid, and it isn't clear whether investigators have evidence indicating possible terrorism or espionage. So far, U.S. national security officials have said that nothing specifically points toward terrorism, though they haven't ruled it out.
But the huge uncertainty about where the plane was headed, and why it apparently continued flying so long without working transponders, has raised theories among investigators that the aircraft may have been commandeered for a reason that appears unclear to U.S. authorities. Some of those theories have been laid out to national security officials and senior personnel from various U.S. agencies, according to one person familiar with the matter.
At one briefing, according to this person, officials were told investigators are actively pursuing the notion that the plane was diverted "with the intention of using it later for another purpose."
As of Wednesday it remained unclear whether the plane reached an alternate destination or if it ultimately crashed, potentially hundreds of miles from where an international search effort has been focused.
The engines' onboard monitoring system is provided by their manufacturer, Rolls-Royce RR.LN -1.71% PLC, and it periodically sends bursts of data about engine health, operations and aircraft movements to facilities on the ground.
Rolls-Royce couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
As part of its maintenance agreements, Malaysia Airlines transmits its engine data live to Rolls-Royce for analysis. The system compiles data from inside the 777's two Trent 800 engines and transmits snapshots of performance, as well as the altitude and speed of the jet.

Those snippets are compiled and transmitted in 30-minute increments, said one person familiar with the system. According to Rolls-Royce's website, the data is processed automatically "so that subtle changes in condition from one flight to another can be detected."
The engine data is being analyzed to help determine the flight path of the plane after the transponders stopped working. The jet was originally headed for China, and its last verified position was half way across the Gulf of Thailand.
A total flight time of five hours after departing Kuala Lumpur means the Boeing 777 could have continued for an additional distance of about 2,200 nautical miles, reaching points as far as the Indian Ocean, the border of Pakistan or even the Arabian Sea, based on the jet's cruising speed.

Good point. I'd really like to see the March 2012 lines awarded numbers.

I did find that ATL777A had projected 200 As in it as of December 2008. It has 177 flying it now.

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The behind the scenes of what's going on has to be incredible.

Pi x r^2 = 3.14 x (2,200 x 2,200) mi = 15,197,600 square miles. That's the search area for the aircraft. yeeeaaahhh good luck with that.....

The Pacific is HUGE....

Morning Press Conference out of Kuala Lumpur say that there was no engine data transmitted after the firat hour of flight when they lost contact. Now we know they have been spot on with everything and there havent been any contradictions from the Malaysian Government...

Seems like the families have been jerked around more than enough, lets hope we can get some answers soon.