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The 737-MAX is the plane equivalent of Windows XP Service Pack 8. > JetBlue is among airlines planning to use the [AirBus A321LR] on routes across the pond, se
by ianhawes 7y ago
The 737-MAX is the plane equivalent of Windows XP Service Pack 8.
> JetBlue is among airlines planning to use the [AirBus A321LR] on routes across the pond, serving Western Europe from New York and Boston.
This has to be a gut punch for Southwest, who has famously relied only on the 737. They're close to hitting their ceiling on domestic expansion with the 737 and can't compete on US-EU routes because of their fleet.
I like that the author points out the realities of modern 737 performance - just because it _can_ reach coast to coast destinations doesn't mean it _should_.
Thats not to say that the 757 is perfect. From what I've heard, maintenance is significantly more complex than the 737. And as the article pointed out, it takes way too long to board/deplane for the short hops that the 737 dominates now.
- Aloha 7y agoSouthwest as far as I'm aware had shown no interest in transatlantic routes, nor do I think they've hit their domestic growth limits - there are still lots of places they don't fly.
- toomuchtodo 7y agoThey fly to Hawaii now, as well as Central America and the Carib with their AirTran acquisition. As you said, lots of places to fly still.
- dehrmann 7y agoOnce Southwest gets over the hurdle of flying something other than 737s, it'll have transatlantic ambitions.
- riffraff 7y agoBut flying a single kind of plane has a lot of advantages, doesn't it? It seems that switching to a new plane would mean a drastic economic change. So the transatlantic ambitions should be a cause to go past that, rather than a side effect.
- nutjob2 7y agoHaving a single source for planes also has disadvantages, as the recent fiasco demonstrates. The CEO is on record saying that they will be evaluating having a second source of planes next year: https://theaircurrent.com/airlines/southwest-wants-a-small-airplane-from-boeing-or-airbus-and-that-could-reshape-aviation/ https://theaircurrent.com/airlines/southwest-wants-a-small-a...
- icelancer 7y agoTheir service to SEA is terrible. Competition here would be nice to CA/AZ but Delta is very reliable and inexpensive (plus it flies the superior Airbus equipment) to Phoenix, so that's a tough route to win.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoTheir service to SEA is terrible. Competition here would be nice to CA/AZ but Delta is very reliable and inexpensive (plus it flies the superior Airbus equipment) to Phoenix, so that's a tough route to win. Delta flies pretty much everything including the 737.
- Aloha 7y agoAnd given as choice, out of Seattle, I'm more likely to fly Alaska, as their equipment is considerably newer than Delta.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoDepends on the route. The last time I flew Alaska to SEA was on a 737-400 a couple years ago. They've since been retired, but their current interiors are rather sterile and have those awful slimline seats. Meanwhile I think Delta will be bringing the A220 to Seattle. Delta also flies a lot of regional carriers to SEA (and both Compass and SkyWest are pretty mediocre out of SEA). I'll take the 2x2 seating of a CRJ/ERJ over a 737 (or the Dash-8s) any day, especially Delta's newer low density layout. The Dash 8 isn't bad for a turboprop, but it's still a turboprop.
- pbourke 7y ago> Meanwhile I think Delta will be bringing the A220 to Seattle They‘re on the SEA-SJC route now, at the least. Great planes.
- icelancer 7y agoI'd rather fly Alaska most of the time too, but lock-in to Delta frequent flier miles being what they are...
- Dylan16807 7y ago> The 737-MAX is the plane equivalent of Windows XP Service Pack 8. If I have an important device that I'm not attaching to a network, that sounds like a good thing. It may not have every feature but it's very stable and efficient.
- philwelch 7y agoExcept that’s the opposite of how the 737-Max actually is. It’s more like they kept bolting on bigger and bigger engines until it had totally different aerodynamics.
- Haga 7y agoTheire should be after accident reclassifications to new planes.
- sokoloff 7y agoWhat makes you think there isn’t a review process? There is a process for “special certification review”, some of those end with changes (typically airworthiness directives); others validate the airplane as meeting certification and safe. Lear 60, MU-2, DC-10, MD-11, ATR-72, R22/R44 helicopters, Piper Malibu, CE-441, and Bonanza have all undergone the SCR process and continue to fly having been validated as safe/conforming (some with changes to airframe or procedures) To my knowledge, only the DC-6 and Constellation had their type certification revoked after in-service accidents.
- Dylan16807 7y agoYeah, that doesn't sound like an XP service pack at all. It's amusing that I got downvotes for someone else's analogy being bad.
- philwelch 7y agoIt’s a bad analogy but maybe responding to the analogy in a way that doesn’t apply to the airplane problem came across as confusing and irrelevant.
- anticensor 7y agoMore like Windows 95 Service Pack 15 :)