Painting of the Fleet

[wings396]

Just wondering if anyone has any info about the completion of the new livery on the remaining A/C. It seems that a majority of the A-321's are still in the old colors. As far as I know very few of them were repainted to begin with. Just about all of them wearing the new livery were delivered that way within the last 2 years. I can only assume that hopes of a merger with UA played some role in it, but that is behind us now. All of the A/C in the old livery look pretty beat and faded anyway, so why not wrap this project up already after 5 years.

 

[robbedagain]

As being in a station where we get 321s and 320s Ive noticed the majority are old colors and was wondering what the status of repaintingthe planes would be

 

[700UW]

In order to save money the company usually waits till the Airbus A/C are due for their S-Check which is once every six years.

 

[wings396]

In order to save money the company usually waits till the Airbus A/C are due for their S-Check which is once every six years.

While I can see this, they were on a fast-track for a while getting them painted long before the six years you mention. With the pending retirement of some of the 733/34, I can understand the company not wasting the money to paint them. As far as I know they plan to keep all of the A-321's, so why not get them done already? How many of the 757's did they do that have been disposed of since that time? I have no doubt that a future merger played a major role in this, and perhaps it still does.......

 

[Mtnman928]

In order to save money the company usually waits till the Airbus A/C are due for their S-Check which is once every six years.

You must be talking about the USAirways Heritage Aircraft.

 

[700UW]

No I am talking about all airbus a/c, they have a S-Check every 6 years, which is their heavy check.

The Boeings have a different mtc schedule, the 757s get an annual HMV viist as does the 767s, the 737s get an annual C-Check and about every three years they get a Q-Check.

Also the 737s had a scribe check that had to be done, scratches and cracks on top of the fuselage, so they had to be taken out of service and then painted after the checks and/or repairs done to them.

They usually dont like to take a plane out of revenue service just for paint, when they are going for a heavy check and would have to be repainted anyhow.

 

[PBI2FLL]

With the pending retirement of some of the 733/34, I can understand the company not wasting the money to paint them.

All of the remaining 737s we have left have been in new colors for awhile now. The 737-400s are now getting interior mods, new bulkheads, wall panels..etc. Actually looks quite nice.
They've been neglecting the interiors on the 737-300 however. I had one come thru my station on Friday that was pretty shabby. Was in desperate need of a major interior cleaning and overhaul. They're obviously not spending any money on the 300 fleet since they'll be gone very soon.

 

[AstroLounge]

All of the remaining 737s we have left have been in new colors for awhile now. The 737-400s are now getting interior mods, new bulkheads, wall panels..etc. Actually looks quite nice.
They've been neglecting the interiors on the 737-300 however. I had one come thru my station on Friday that was pretty shabby. Was in desperate need of a major interior cleaning and overhaul. They're obviously not spending any money on the 300 fleet since they'll be gone very soon.

That is Fine and Dandy from an appearance standpoint but how about UPGRADING the damn APU and/or air conditioning system? These aircraft are down right RIDICULOUS in the H-O-T summer weather. They haven't been christened "Satan's Chariot" for No Reason. Walking on one of these birds in the Heat is comparable EDITED BY MODERATOR . So much for the adage "if it's Not Boeing, I'm not Going".........KEEP Your Losy Stinking Boeing. FLY AIRBUS, Cool, Comfortable and a helluva lot cleaner. Bathroom to boot, not an Onboard outhouse.

 

[AstroLounge]

That is Fine and Dandy from an appearance standpoint but how about UPGRADING the damn APU and/or air conditioning system? These aircraft are down right RIDICULOUS in the H-O-T summer weather. They haven't been christened "Satan's Chariot" for No Reason. Walking on one of these birds in the Heat is comparable EDITED BY MODERATOR . So much for the adage "if it's Not Boeing, I'm not Going".........KEEP Your Losy Stinking Boeing. FLY AIRBUS, Cool, Comfortable and a helluva lot cleaner. Bathroom to boot, not an Onboard outhouse.

Comment was EDITED, deemed Too Offensive. I guess I should have stated " Aircraft was Hot, I perspired". Now I am going to Church. Look for Me in the First Row......I'll be wearing a veil and carrying the BIGGEST Prayer Book!

 

[iheartairbus]

All of the remaining 737s we have left have been in new colors for awhile now. The 737-400s are now getting interior mods, new bulkheads, wall panels..etc. Actually looks quite nice.
They've been neglecting the interiors on the 737-300 however. I had one come thru my station on Friday that was pretty shabby. Was in desperate need of a major interior cleaning and overhaul. They're obviously not spending any money on the 300 fleet since they'll be gone very soon.

Does anybody know if/when the Airbus interior mods will take place...I know the leather seats/carpets have mostly been replaced, but SOOOOO many east/west airbus look like crap all diry and especially the old awa airbus that have very old bulkheads...Also I noticed all the Hawaii ETOPS 757's have the really old bulkheads, but new bins & monitors. Looks funny to have a half completed update.

 

[USFlyer]

In order to save money the company usually waits till the Airbus A/C are due for their S-Check which is once every six years.

In this case, given the painting started five years ago and S-checks are due every six years, I assume we should expect the remaining Airbus aircraft to be painted within the next year.

 

[wings396]

In this case, given the painting started five years ago and S-checks are due every six years, I assume we should expect the remaining Airbus aircraft to be painted within the next year.

I have my doubts since they haven't painted anything a quite a while. I realize that all of the 733/734's have been in the new colors for a while, and that makes it difficult for me to understand why a majority of the A-321's are still not done. At some point the 733's will be retired while the 321's will be around for years to come. I still see several of the Express A/C in the old colors, so I can only assume that the company put the brakes on all painting for over a year or more. From what I recall, we did pull A/C off the line just so they could be painted on a regular basis up until it all come to a halt. I for one like the new livery, and think that the old faded one looks like crap on the A/C that are left. Delta seems to be turning out their A/C with the new livery at an alarming rate compared to anyone else such as UA and US.

 

[birdstrike]

The aircraft are not painted during the check it would be impossible to do the maintenance and paint at the same time. They are sent out solely for paint.

 

[700UW]

They are painted AFTER the check has been completed, and everyone knows US doesnt paint its own planes.

 

[wings396]

I know that PI did their painting in-house, but can't say if US did prior to the merger or not. I know that the stripe down the side was a sticker of some sort, and from the fwd door to the nose along with part of the tail were painted. Given that it was such a small area, I would assume that it was done in-house as well. At this time the only airline that I am aware of that does it's own painting is Delta. I believe that they are doing the PMDL A/C in ATL while the PMNW A/C are being done by a vendor.