What the deuce? Gotta learn how to reply! Well anyway, the West 737 fleet may need to be retired, I wouldn't know I'm an East person, but I can say the East 737 fleet still got legs. We get 737-400's all day and those 144 seats are full coming and going. Acft are painted with leather interiors, I would say are, overall, in good shape. Remember when dealing with Usairways you must specify East or West. Merger (5yrs) pending. PS Did you see Mr. Parker on CNBC yesterday? The Money Honey Maria B ask him a question about pilot pay. WOW he's good, dodged it like a politician.
Seriously? Good Shape??? I recently flew on a E-734, and it was horendous. The side plastic walls, besides being faded into a "smokers" yellowish white, were loose, in the four rows I could see, 3 of the window shades were inoperable, or just crooked, and the one in my row was not, and could not, get back into the track. The overhead bin above my row needed the delicate touch and right closing position from the F/A to close, and this was not an overstuffed bin. Plus the bins are 20 yrs old, which means they are small, narrow, and shallow, and unable to accomodate most of the flying publics carryon luggage today. I was on a 25yr old Kenyan Airways 732 which was cleaner, and in better condition.
With regards to the seats, Row 4 bulkhead was the worst thing ever, narrow, and NO legroom. And the older 1st class seats, which in my opinion were the more comfortable gray seats, with taller backings, and contoured tops for your head, and with cushier bottoms, were removed and replaced with the "new" blue seats which offer no real cushion, shorter overall backs, and now less leg room. Just a complete disgrace. Those older gray F seats were perfect for cross country flights back in the day, and I was disapointed when the first round of new Airbus came out with those hard cushioned F seats. Only bonus was the slot for the water bottle, which they dont give you now anyway. The F seats in the West Airbus are much better; height and countoured adjustable headrest are simple nice perk to any F seat. Some US airlines offer these adjustable headrests in every coach seat as well. Best domestic coach chair was/is Frontier, which I havent flown in a couple of years. Not only did the seats recline, but the bottoms moved forward to provide a better overall seating position, and the head rests adjusted height wise, and you could contour for sleeping.
