Which is EXACTLY why we were laughing our sphincters off over the last few years when the black team was bad mouthing our crapped out "ancient, small engined, non ETOPS fleet" and all the other BS we got to wade through during the dating phase.

The contract is the key, not the airplane. As far as it "making money", that's a canard. The company decides whether or not the plane makes money. We decide how to operate it.

 

Uh not quite. The overhead may be old tech, but the aircraft are brand new or very young, much younger than 757s from the 80s. We're talking aircraft age here, and many blue aircraft are ancient relatively speaking. Also, how many blue aircraft are GLS capable? A bunch of the 73s are...

Passengers pay the bills, they don't care what the cockpit looks like. From the passengers point of view I'll take the brand new 737 with a dreamliner interior than a musty 757 with the square bins and circa 1985 picture tubes hanging in the aisle. Those are just embarrassing.

As far as the second part not sure what you are talking about. An airplane with low operating costs will make money, more than one with high costs. Why would a company decide for an aircraft not to make money??

 

Knotcher;
I disagree with the guppies being "new". The airplane might be straight off the assembly line, but it is at the end of its' product cycle. We are buying "old" generation airplanes, that will have to compete with 320NEO's and GuppyMAX's for the next 25 years.

I think the timing on buying more NG's is way, way off. Should have bought NEO's. 321's with big motors are a gigantic step up from 900ER's, and the 321 NEO is going to do an almost good enough imitation of a 757 for most airlines needs. 900ER's are an abortion by comparison.

As far as passenger experience there is very little difference. Yeah the old TV's hanging in the isle aren't that great. But neither are the little 12 inch LCD's, 3-4 rows up from you.

Both suck compared to an Airbus or 190 with 1 inch wider seats, and LiveTV for free like Jetblows.

 

Delta's got many of the oldest airplanes in the industry and they seem to do just fine so get over your "embarrassment" and your fixation with "new and shiny." What are you, twelve years old?

The only thing that matters is if the airplane is matched intelligently to it's mission and that's where we're failing miserably.

What good is a "dreamliner interior" if entire rows of seats need to be blocked because the airplane can't get the **** job done?

 

Thank you.

 

HEY I pointed that out very recently. But it was explained to me that it has nothing to do with under capable shiny new airplanes. The reason that these airframes can't get the job done is because LUAL pilots are not motivated.

Seriously........

 

The next thing you know, someone will argue that the only thing that matters in training are "top of the line" sims and motivated instructors.

Oh wait, that actually happened.

 

Delta aircraft all have nice new refurbished interiors. The passengers are the ones who are fixated with new and shiny.

Replacing old 757s with 900s that carry the same passengers for less fuel is a sound strategy. I can't remember the last time in the last three years I have been weight restricted on the 737, another urban legend you guys like to to exaggerate and perpetuate ad nauseum.

 

This is "like clubbing baby seals". Props to BG.

 

Evidently you don't fly west coast to HI then my friend. As far as an urban legend, I heard it from your own guys in LAX ops and in HNL ops. United DOES block seats on many 737 Hawaii flights, you can believe it or not, it's up to you. Replacing an older 757 with a newer 739 is NOT a sound strategy if the airplane isn't up to the task and according to your own pilots, quite often it isn't.

As far as the passengers, of course they'd prefer a newer interior over an older one, ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL. But if you think anybody gets online at Kayak.com or Orbitz or any of the other fare comparison websites and has their travel decisions affected by the type of aircraft on the route you're nuts. Fare and expediency (best connections) are 99% of the decision-making process. Hell, most passengers wouldn't know a 757 from a Ford Tri-Motor, let alone an older 757 vs a newer 737.

Look, I'm glad we're getting a *** load of new airplanes and I think the 738 and 739 are good machines when used on the right routes. But seeing what the Smallsack-led management has done to our mainland-Hawaii flying is heartbreaking. Don't take my word for it, talk to the people who really know: the agents on the west coast and in the islands. You want to see EMBARRASSMENT, go talk to those poor people.