FedEx kept the meet & greets going for a while despite the lack of hiring plans. Those tend to be the first called when things start back up.

It resulted in a limitation that prohibited the extension of the flaps unless the wx was above approach minimums (not just vis) OR you had enough gas to shoot the approach, GA, and divert with the flaps fully extended and land with 1500lbs in gas.

Also if you needed a t/o alternate a "flap alternate" must also be designated that allowed a diversion with the flaps stuck at T/O setting and land with at least 1500lbs fuel.

It really was not a big problem other than keeping it straight when you needed one.

Thanks for those links, Columbia. I wonder why it has taken so long to get these winglets to market? If they work they seem like a game changer for all A320 operators. If they work that well for a 321, I can only imagine what they'd do for a A319!

No, never, not even close. Gate agents will say anything to get a flight out on time. An alternate usually only affected your ability to take a JS up front (say, GSO-ATL), and I can't remember ever kicking off more than one or two from the back because of an alternate. The longer flights actually made it easier to deal with because fuel burn increased max landing weight. Lately, we're underweight because no one wants to check a bag any more, and it makes us even more nose-heavy. Now, if the only valid Alternate was PIT...

At Comair, we still do the w&b ourselves, which can be a plus. I'm not sure how savvy they can get when it's done via ACARS.

Probably because the market didn't demand them. They sold just fine without them. Now that the focus is on thin efficiency improvements, they'll need them to really compete.
I think it mentions that the 321 is wider than the 320. I dint know that, but certainly the pax will notice.

The 321 is not wider than the 320. It's the same fuselage barrel.

The 707, 727, 737, and 757 are all the same barrel as well... yikes.

Thanks-that's what I initially thought- the same tube. I think I saw this quote and thought he was comparing the 320 and 321 and not the 737 and 321.

"“It’s a bigger tube,” said Aboulafia, referring to the wider fuselage of the A321. “That’s good for passenger comfort. The A321 does look very-well placed.”

Thanks for your perspective and experience. Now, I'm curious why there's a discrepancy in the answers I'm getting on this. Comair's 50 seat CRJ's don't have a greater useful load than the 50 seat CRJ's at other airlines, do they? So why are some current/former CRJ 50 drivers telling me that 6 empty seats for W&B is not all that unusual, and some are saying that would never happen?

Like I said before, it's not that big of a deal for my wife's buddy pass friend... she finally got on a flight to ATL. But I'm more curious now. And of course, this could be a pretty serious issue in terms of customer service if we are needlessly leaving paying passengers behind on a regular basis.

Maybe gate agents don't really care about leaving non-revs as much as they are under the gun to get the flight out on time. Paying pax are probably a different matter, however.

Well I would hope that's true. But I have seen quite a few gate agents that were in a state of panic trying to get the flight closed out and the door closed to meet the D-0 requirement. It often appears to be their overriding priority. Wouldn't surprise me if paying passengers are being left too. I'm not blaming the gate agents for this. It's a result of poor management.