I agree that the ROI is not there to trade in a CR-7 for a CR-9, but to trade them in for a C-series flow by us would be very smart!

Also point of clarification, the CR7 is now dual class and has 66 seats so it is a gain of 10.

Why is "strategy" in quotes? Overflying NRT when the markets dictate that doing so will increase revenue is good business. I have always found the fNWA guys' lovefest with the 787 somewhat amusing because that is EXACTLY what that airplane will do.. and sooner than if we were to buy a similar number of 777s. But to the other part of your question, why not 777s? Longer range, more capacity, etc etc etc... and it's a Boeing :cool:

They get to keep the 76 'rs. Get 717's, hold on to the DC9 until they can convert the remaining 70 to 76 seaters, and then the company can (and will) go as low on the mainline as they like :mad:

We could see a lot more NB flying go away with section 1 as written

Ya know, there is a good article on flightaware that might be enlightening WRT the Unicorn jet. It makes the case that the legacy mfgs. are playing hardball defending turf against the boys from brazil and the canucks, and the segment is by no means defined.

I suggest you ask around how much of our Pacific traffic is Japan O&D. We could lose significant Pacific traffic and flying without that traffic. Some routes can support direct on a 787, some a 777, but we still need the NRT/HND O&D

WHOAH, pump the brakes T! Not FNWA myself, but I'll take that as a compliment! :). You did pick up on the quotes. I did beg the question. Where else in our system do we need the capacity and range? If this were true, I'm just wondering what the plan would be for those airframes... always thought we should have more of them though, great plane.

I don't see it as a 747 replacement, yet, even the 777-300, we are still finding good use for the whales.

Why not 777 ?
Pricey, a330 cheaper.
More airframes= more routes or airplanes to the desert. Maybe we are just upgauging.

Do we still have Boeing over a barrel WRT the 787 deliveries? Could explain some recent and future orders

I never said that NRT was not needed. I can see it becoming less significant as the point to point US to China markets are developed. that is probably why there are only 18 787s on order. I don't see it becoming much bigger than that..

I was in NRT last April, about a month after the big earth quake. I don't know how much the NRT traffic has recovered since then, but at that time, according to some of the BKK F/A's I spoke with, their loads were very light. As in 100 people, in a big 4 engine jet.

I hope the loads in and out of NRT have recovered by now. I haven't been out that way in several months, maybe Carl can tell us what's going on, load wise, with the Whale flying. I did see somewhere that come summer, they plan to put it back on ATL-NRT, which will free up a 777 for somewhere else. There was a rumor they were going to add a second Dubai flight, 3 days per week, but later Anil said no. And Anil knows everything. I'll just ask him in a few days when I'm over there.

Didn't say you were fNWA... I said that they have a lovefest with the 787. ;)

As to the A330 vs 777. Airbus (yuck) vs Boeing (yay) nuff said.

I think the whales will be around awhile until oil hits a certain point, then they become expensive. I have no idea what that point is, but the 777s can carry almost as much a lot farther, so the roles of the 747s could be diminished to hub to hub stuff or maybe charter.. I dunno..

I just hope we get a change of command in November and we can get on with the business of running the country the way it was meant to be run.

So it is really Anil that is running DAL then.. now it all makes sense. :D