New A/C

[AAmech]

Southwest, stick with your 737's.. Its a sure thing.

Maybe Not! My knee jerk reaction is to agree with you, but the business world is littered with VERY successfull companies who rested on their laurels, refused to change their business models, and were HAMMERED for it. Sears and K-Mart were clearly the retail leaders at one time. Look at them now! Howard Johnson's were at every exit on the Interstate. How their fortunes have changed! Its a really tough question that Parker and Kellerher have to answer.

 

[firstamendment]

I agree with the post that says "Dont fix something that is not broken"..

Southwest has been flying the 737 its entire history and they have 30 years plus of profits to prove it.. Its a winner.. Dont stray or you will find yourselves in a big huge mess.

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid..

Airbus.. The A320 family is pretty easy to work on.. But its expensive to purchase parts for and the wait can be painfully long. Each aircraft has its pros and cons. JetBlue seems to be doing quite nicely with the A320 and Southwest with the 737 Classic and the NG.

Personally US Airways made a huge mistake going the route of Airbus.. Not that its a bad plane but like anything at US Airways we did it 1/2 ass. We already had the 737-300/400 so why not go the route of the NG. Materials, procedures, Training, ground support, Tooling all would be similar or the same. One Pilot Group today would be flying all of the aircraft instead of the split groups we have.

Sure the A320 family is great if your entire fleet is Airbus.. But thats not the case at US Airways.. It would have been much better buying the NG and the 767-300/400 than to have purchases the Airbus A320 family and the A330..

Southwest, stick with your 737's.. Its a sure thing.

I agree half way here. One aircraft type is the way to go. I think the original intent for US Airways was to BE an all airbus fleet, so the cost WOULD be lowered, but as we see that did not happen.

I like the 320 family because it gives you a wide range of flexibility, from 120 seats to 169 and depending upon seasonal loads can be very beneficial. If Boeing does or can offer that with the 737, stay with what is working.

Hey LUV, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. <_<

 

[v1rotate]

You WN people are a class act that others could learn volumes from !!!

Having jumpseated many times on LUV, I have to agree. However, it's funny how it was not so long ago that LUV was perceived by the industry as the lowest common denominator. Look at them now. Keep on truckin' good buddy!!!...

V1 😀

 

[NVFlyer]

Flew on one of the new 737 w/ the kickass looking wingtips on my bwi-pvd jaunt Friday. I don't think the 319 can match this A/C. Stick to the 737!

 

[mga707]

Flew on one of the new 737 w/ the kickass looking wingtips on my bwi-pvd jaunt Friday. I don't think the 319 can match this A/C. Stick to the 737!

So...that would be the "I'm sick of getting up at 4AM to head to BWI to fly with those idiots at Southworst to PVD" jaunt, then, wouldn't it?
Yes, some of us do read more than just this section... 😉

 

[NVFlyer]

Mga707. I'm talking about the plane not the airline! I don't like the carefree style of Southworst. Once I found one of your flight attendants hiding in one of the overhead compartments. Why??? - Who knows! I'm forced to fly your idiot airline out of necessity of schedule - not price. I would gladly pay five times the cost to another more responsible airline if they flew the same schedule! :down:

 

[KCFlyer]

Mga707. I'm talking about the plane not the airline! I don't like the carefree style of Southworst. Once I found one of your flight attendants hiding in one of the overhead compartments. Why??? - Who knows! I'm forced to fly your idiot airline out of necessity of schedule - not price. I would gladly pay five times the cost to another more responsible airline if they flew the same schedule! :down:

Then pay 5 times the cost and go thru a hub somewhere. I have yet to be accosted at an airport and forced to fly Southwest. You've got the freedom of choice...exercise it. Or will your company not pay five times the price to fly a more responsible airline? If that's the case, might I suggest finding another job that doesn't involve travel.

 

[mga707]

Mga707. I'm talking about the plane not the airline! I don't like the carefree style of Southworst. Once I found one of your flight attendants hiding in one of the overhead compartments. Why??? - Who knows! I'm forced to fly your idiot airline out of necessity of schedule - not price. I would gladly pay five times the cost to another more responsible airline if they flew the same schedule! :down:

Hey, I neither own nor even lease a single flight attendant, let alone the entire airline! Merely a passenger and small shareholder.
Personally, I enjoy a "carefree style". Nor do I find it and responsibility to be mutually exclusive concepts. To each his own.
Returning to the subject, I also think the "winghorns" add a bit of flair. Saw two brand-new 73Gs so bedecked sitting side-by-side at PHX Friday while on taxi out. They did indeed look snazzy.

 

[phllax]

If SW were to get the EMB 190, it would probably hold just a few less people than the 737-200 or 500. If this is the case, than wouldn't it make more sense for them to find some used 500's that are sitting around or order some 600's to open up these smaller markets. From a cost perscpective, it's probably a no win situation between the 2 options. The costs associated with bringing a new fleet type on line (training, parts, etc) vs an airplane they currently operate that might be just too big for a market. (The 600 is a very expensive airplane to operate, it has weight issues like the 318)

With regards as to why US went withAirbus, there are 2 reasons.
1. By the time US placed orders for new jets Boeing's books were heavily backloged with new orders for the NG's from just aout everybody else.

2. Airbus was ready to go, and offered US a great deal, including a suspected deal that included a free 321 for so many 319 purchased. (There were no 321 operators in the America's at the time, except for possibly Air Jamaica). The 321 in its basic form doesn't have the legs for transcon flights, so an extra fuel tank was thrown in as well.

 

[NVFlyer]

POST DELETED BY MODERATOR

 

[N421LV]

Flew on one of the new 737 w/ the kickass looking wingtips on my bwi-pvd jaunt Friday. I don't think the 319 can match this A/C. Stick to the 737!

They do look pretty good...and unlike those faggish little endplates that Airbus sticks on their birds, these actually improve performance significantly.

 

[ITRADE]

With regards as to why US went withAirbus, there are 2 reasons.
1. By the time US placed orders for new jets Boeing's books were heavily backloged with new orders for the NG's from just aout everybody else.

There were more than 2.

#3 - Boeing was suing USAir over the breach of contract re: the 737 order.

#4 - USAir was blaming Boeing for the US 427 crash and Boeing was refusing to accept blame.

 

[sfb]

Don't forget reason #5: Steve Wolf had an excuse to go visit his chateau in France...

 

[Just Plane Crazy]

The basic question was and is if WN should go to another aircraft. The answer is yes. The B737 is at its limits. WN is looking at possible international markets and the B737 will not be the proper aircraft. So naturally WN will look at a second fleet. Will it be the B7E7 or the A330? Matter of fact it does not matter which aircraft it will be. The end result is the same. A second type of aircraft.

And if the B737 or the A320 is the better aircraft is a matter of opinion. Airbus has a, and is upgrading a Spares Center in VA. So not every one needs to call Europe. And the older the aircrafts get the more spares are going to be available. Look at the B777, spares are still not as common as the ones for a B737.

Each aircraft has it advantages and disadvantages. When WN started no A320 was available and therefore it was a natural decision to stick with the B737. The A320 is a aircraft that will be around for a long time. The future of the B737 on the other side is limited.

 

[Texas]

We're quick to scream bloody murder when an airbus stab breaks off, but brush off any Boeing problems like Rudder lock-overs.

What is a rudder lock-over?