? about AA's Future Fleet

[Hopeful]

<_< Well, almost nothing! We (TWA)did have one of our pilots take one of our 727's supersonic once! But was a hero in the end because he got the aircraft on he ground in one peace! 😉

I believe the cowboy's name was Gibson!

 

[kirkpatrick]

I believe the cowboy's name was Gibson!

That's a Hoot!

MK

 

[j7915]

<_< For once I have to agree with aa's bean counters. besides the cost of settling the law suits from the families of the victims of airplanes falling out of the sky can get mighty expensive also. I have approx. forty years aircraft experience, counting military, and there should be nothing a pilot could do to make an aircraft come apart in flight!!! 😉

Then you obviously never marked instrument bezels. One of the little coloured strips on the glass used to indicate max maneuvering speed. Above that speed, which is not always the max airframe speed, the pilots can/have in the past fatally broken an airplane. Which is also why there are such sub-systems as rudder throw limiter, over speed warning systems etc.

 

[eolesen]

With all those MD-80s, and these wonderful gas prices, perhaps a re-engining program using GE-34 UDF engines?

It's been looked at, but it won't happen anytime soon. I'm hearing that winglets may be an interim option, but replacement is still the best alternative right now.

 

[Flight]

<_< Well, almost nothing! We (TWA)did have one of our pilots take one of our 727's supersonic once! But was a hero in the end because he got the aircraft on he ground in one peace! 😉

Oh... said the FE, that flap ckt breaker must have popped while I was in the can. I'll make everyone happy and just reset it...... :blink:

My my that is sure a nice view of the great salt lake out the window above us.

 

[Bagbelt]

I do biulding maintenance on the side and the sales and accounting people there always ask when AA is getting rid of the super-80's. People literally check on aa.com what kind of equipment is being used and book on 737's if they can. I'm sure our people know that. Are/is the deal with Boeing through 2018 still in effect? Wouldn't the 717 have been a natural replacement? Didn't Twa have 20-30 of them? I need answers people!

 

[FWAAA]

I do biulding maintenance on the side and the sales and accounting people there always ask when AA is getting rid of the super-80's. People literally check on aa.com what kind of equipment is being used and book on 737's if they can. I'm sure our people know that. Are/is the deal with Boeing through 2018 still in effect? Wouldn't the 717 have been a natural replacement? Didn't Twa have 20-30 of them? I need answers people!

I didn't mind the MD-80s for two or three hour flights, but when AA got the bright idea to remove the 738s from ORD and send most of them to MIA, nearly every ORD-West Coast flight went back to MD-80s (nearly all of which had been 738s or 757s for the last several years).

The 717 would have been perfect, but it is too much airframe (too heavy) for its capacity. Sorta the same problem as the A-318 or B-737-600. That and AA's desire to trim what it saw as "overpaid" F-100 pilot pay scales. The Embraer 190 or 195 will be the logical 100 seater, if AA and the APA can agree on pay scales quite a bit less than the MD-80 pay rates. And if Embraer (or GE or someone else) makes AA a great financing deal.

AirTran is making money flying its 717s and 737s, and it pays its captains a fair wage ($153/hr tos at 12 years), so there's no real reason that AA couldn't pay similar rates and make money.

The Boeing exclusivity deal had to be formally torn up (EU demanded it as part of Boeing's purchase of McDonnell Douglas) but nothing requires that AA actually buy any Airbus. B)

TWA had ordered about 30 717s and AA ended up taking delivery of them, but quickly returned them. I think some of them ended up at AirTran, and some at an Australian budget subsidiary of QF. Too bad, really. They were fuel efficient and well-built airplanes.

 

[Bagbelt]

I didn't mind the MD-80s for two or three hour flights, but when AA got the bright idea to remove the 738s from ORD and send most of them to MIA, nearly every ORD-West Coast flight went back to MD-80s (nearly all of which had been 738s or 757s for the last several years).

The 717 would have been perfect, but it is too much airframe (too heavy) for its capacity. Sorta the same problem as the A-318 or B-737-600. That and AA's desire to trim what it saw as "overpaid" F-100 pilot pay scales. The Embraer 190 or 195 will be the logical 100 seater, if AA and the APA can agree on pay scales quite a bit less than the MD-80 pay rates. And if Embraer (or GE or someone else) makes AA a great financing deal.

AirTran is making money flying its 717s and 737s, and it pays its captains a fair wage ($153/hr tos at 12 years), so there's no real reason that AA couldn't pay similar rates and make money.

The Boeing exclusivity deal had to be formally torn up (EU demanded it as part of Boeing's purchase of McDonnell Douglas) but nothing requires that AA actually buy any Airbus. B)

Thanks for the info. The 717 seems to me a updated dc-9-50, I figured the training costs would be nil. The production line is closing so I guess it's the end of an era. The pinch in the middle makes it look like a distant relative of a B-29/Stratocruiser.

 

[j7915]

I do biulding maintenance on the side and the sales and accounting people there always ask when AA is getting rid of the super-80's. People literally check on aa.com what kind of equipment is being used and book on 737's if they can. I'm sure our people know that. Are/is the deal with Boeing through 2018 still in effect? Wouldn't the 717 have been a natural replacement? Didn't Twa have 20-30 of them? I need answers people!

Where do these people get their dislike for the MD80? I pick it over anything else if possible, try for seat A or B, so that I am not burried under the extra wide overhead baggage bins of the 737, and I dislike the 3x3 seating. Rather take an RJ if necessary, hated to see the prop jobs leave Tulsa 🙂

 

[Bagbelt]

Where do these people get their dislike for the MD80? I pick it over anything else if possible, try for seat A or B, so that I am not burried under the extra wide overhead baggage bins of the 737, and I dislike the 3x3 seating. Rather take an RJ if necessary, hated to see the prop jobs leave Tulsa 🙂

I never really understood that either, perhaps it's their getting old. I think a couple of t.v sets makes a big difference too. Even if "eye on american" isn't your bag, it still beats staring out the window, sometimes.

 

[eolesen]

AA's next 737 deliveries aren't until something like 2013. While Boeing has a huge order book for widebodies (mostly 787s right now), I suspect the narrowbody side of their business is in a world of hurt, so if AA really wanted another 200+ (there are currently 327 MD80's in the active fleet), I'm fairly certain Boeing would find a way of producing them, even if it meant re-opening production at LGB.

 

[AMFAMAN]

AA's next 737 deliveries aren't until something like 2013. While Boeing has a huge order book for widebodies (mostly 787s right now), I suspect the narrowbody side of their business is in a world of hurt, so if AA really wanted another 200+ (there are currently 327 MD80's in the active fleet), I'm fairly certain Boeing would find a way of producing them, even if it meant re-opening production at LGB.

FYI...Boeing has a backlog of 1,133 737's as of 12/05.

 

[eolesen]

FYI...Boeing has a backlog of 1,133 737's as of 12/05.

FYI... that backlog includes AA's 50 slated for delivery in 2013.

Boeing's peak year for 73NG production was about 300 aircraft in 2001, and about 280 aircraft in 1999 and 2000.

Production in 2002 thru now has run at about 220, 175, 200, and 210 aircraft per year respectively.

So, if the peak production levels were to be assumed, they'd clear out the backlog within a little over three years, but AA isn't the only airline with orders stretching out five years or more, so I'll maintain that for a longtime customer like AA, Boeing could make room on the production schedule.

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

FYI... that backlog includes AA's 50 slated for delivery in 2013.

Boeing's peak year for 73NG production was about 300 aircraft in 2001, and about 280 aircraft in 1999 and 2000.

Production in 2002 thru now has run at about 220, 175, 200, and 210 aircraft per year respectively.

So, if the peak production levels were to be assumed, they'd clear out the backlog within a little over three years, but AA isn't the only airline with orders stretching out five years or more, so I'll maintain that for a longtime customer like AA, Boeing could make room on the production schedule.

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" E " ,
I never understood what the "NG" designator stood for ?
( 73NG )

NH/BB's

 

[FWAAA]

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" E " ,
I never understood what the "NG" designator stood for ?
( 73NG )

"Next Generation" is what Boeing says it stands for, but Airplane Geeks often use 73G to refer to 737-700s (as in WN's fleet is increasingly comprised of 73Gs).

I think it includes 737-600s, -700s, -800s and -900s.

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/737family/background.html