Maybe they won't furlough when they ****can the 717s then... :eek:

320 Training
 

Just in case anyone was wondering I talked to the training planner today. He said to expect "ground training" and the 100 series NATCO, the 200 and 300 in Miami and back to NATCO for the 400 series..... I think I got that right. It will probably be that way until April or March.

Southwest also placed an order for 150 737 Max aircraft

Gary Kelly WN CEO: "Commonality with existing fleet was the key to buying 737 Max."

I can see the 737MAX overhead panel already ;-)


Cheers
George

Now picture yourself as the jet descends through 18,000 feet. SWFFSWFSWRFGHHSWSWWISTLESCHWWSEFFSQWWWHWSHGQ (at 130 db level)

CA: Approach Check
FO: WHAT?
CA: A P P R O A C H CHECK!
FO: OHKAY!
FO: guard your eyes
CA: WHAT? SPEAK UP, WHERE'S YOUR RUBBER BAND?
FO: (initiates search for rubber band, having missed its departure from the ICS, then ricochet off the clock and lodging in the window track)
NYC ATC: Delta 982 turn left heading 040
FO: OK, I'M DOING THE RECALL GUARD YOUR EYES
FO: push, mash, WHACK, THUMP, WHACK, WHACK, SLAP
NYC ATC: Delta 982 turn left heading 040
CA: What's Wrong?
FO: Damn Recall. CAN YOU PUSH YOUR BUTTON?
NYC ATC: Delta 982 turn left heading 040
CA: Delta 982, heading 040
CA: YOU NEED TO TURN UP YOUR RADIO
FO: ALTIMETERS .... .

Apparently just replacement jets....
Bloomberg

[I]Kelly said. “There is much that is the same, and that is very, very important for a company like Southwest Airlines. Our strategy is to be the low-cost producer. We achieve that not with low wages and not with old airplanes, but with efficiency.”[/I]

This is the biggest problem that Delta has going forward... 10 categories/fleets with many more sub fleets inside the fleets. It will make our cost high, even with low wages compared to UAL, AA, & SWA.

There is something to be said about fleet commonality for sure. But after the AA MD80 debacle, one can see how your airline could be significantly crippled if an AD or emergency AD is issued. Very rare obviously but costly if it happens. Of course if that happened to the 73N then we'd be crippled too.

As to maintenance cost, the one thing they said years ago was post merger even with a multiple aircraft fleet we still achieve efficiencies because the fleets are so large. The parts won't get much cheaper.

But if we wanted a common fleet then park the Boeings and go all Airbi'. I don't think the 767, 777, 747 and 737 have as much in common as the A319/320/330 Airbus fleet.

In fact, how much of the 787 is being incorporated into the 737Max? I mean after all that work it just seems like a waste not to clean sheet a whole fleet around the technology and lessons learned. It's like the 787 and 748 are doing one thing and we're seriously looking at retiring 737 Max's with a 100 year old overhead panel.

Back in the mid-nineties or so Boeing 737's rudder PCU came under scrutiny as a result of some serious accidents. Had the FAA ordered the fleet grounded (like they did with the DC-10 after the American crash in 1979) that would likely have bankrupted SWA.

I've always wondered if there was political pressure brought to bear on the FAA because of the effect on SWA....naaah, couldn't happen.

Looks like our next order will be Airbus!

Random question here. Has anyone on here gotten a vasectomy? And how long was the recovery before flying? My Dr said 3 days but that seems optimistic to me.