That would be my guess exactly, without any particular insight.

I also have a theory that used 777's would come in just early enough to replace 747's 1:1, until we get into replacement deliveries. This would have the added benefit of slightly reducing capacity (but not too much), while giving the pilots a place to go. There is a delicate dance going on, to try to keep the airline staffed, and I'm not sure that having displacements in the top category works well. Yes, I understand they don't buy airplanes to have a place to put pilots, but if you have a 747 going out, and you're going to bring in some capacity to backfill some of it...

Isn't it funny how kids roll with it but adults get all bent out of shape? For years my kids got two Christmases. One was an early Christmas, "special request" to Santa because Daddy had to help deliver the presents on the 24th, and one on the 25th with all their cousins. All the neighbor kids were jealous and would ask their dads to "go get a job helping Santa" so they could have two Christmases.

There's that, but also, how much of the traffic going through a hub is Origin/Destination type traffic?

Richard wants to make SEA a hub to Asia, feeding by adding our domestic flight as well as flights from Europe. I wonder what percentage of O/D pax there will be once we get the hub spooled up and get 30 gates.

Narita has very little O/D traffic, yet we still have lots of big iron coming and going through there. Mostly it's connecting traffic. That hub will be shifted to SEA.

I doubt Richard is too worried about what the average citizen in Seattle thinks about Delta's next wide body order, and I doubt they will boycott Delta if we offer international service out of SEA to Asia and Europe on new Airbus' vs. 787's.

Oh, and we already operate a lot of Boeings.

RA makes a big point at the Left Seat about making small orders 25/30 aircraft. Pitting Boeing against Airbus. I will be surprised if we do not end up with both 787s and 350s at some point. Probably 330/350 this round. Followed soon by some 787s.

Both of you might be right. I don't really think we can estimate the weight given to the various factors, with the data we have here.

Only RA knows what RA's gonna do.

Oh, and he'll change his mind three or four times between today and the order...and then the BOD will make adjustments to that! :rolleyes:

If RA's smart (and he is) he'll find a way to "Leverage" (don't you hate that over used word?) the wide body order against us in another rushed C2015, just like he did with the 717's in C2012.

"Hey, if you cut me some slack on the Virgin JV thing, I'll order some brand new XXX's! And here's another 4,8,3, 3, in exchange for that pesky profit sharing thingy, but you must ACT NOW!"

Interstellar is a good movie.

Anyone finishing OE in December.

You have the option to request a regular schedule before your last day of OE. You will the have a blank schedule for the rest of December. There is no pay guarantee so you will have to pick up trips from open time or the swap board but you can get Christmas off if you want.

All good points with so many moving parts to consider.

I don't think the O/D traffic is as much of a factor as ensuring "local" political help to aquire 30 gates and a new customs facility that will compete directly with AS on the North side.

Remember the Juno fiasco..a little Birdie told me that the JNU FSDO was in bed with AS to keep us out of there..thus the removal of Cat D circling mins and their subsequent return but with an ADF requirement to define the FAF..gee, DL 73N's don't have an ADF, that will keep them out of there and make it too expensive for DL, and if we can't get into JNU, maybe DL will think twice and just forget about their whole plan for SEA.

Whether that's true or not, I don't know.. we put the 757 on it..no worries, but it'd be nice to avoid the potential for similar "local" manipulation as we ramp up SEA.

A 787 order, along with some appropriate marketing, would make us less of the "foreign" invaders and more of the home team willing to fill the sky with Boeing WB's on "our" new home turf. That gesture might apply enough pressure to keep the AS operatives in check to get the facilities in SEA and ensure that all the details are met. We don't want to get a surprise like "thanks for spending all that money to build a new customs facility, but the local head honcho has decided that it won't be be manned during the big DL arrival bank, so everyone will have to be bussed ala Bradley in LAX".

I've spent enough time waiting for a fuel truck in CentAmer chasing druggies to know a little grease goes a long way..and 787's may help us keep a level playing field in SEA.

Awesome. More RJ expansion in seattle��