dayone

The aircraft business is not the only industry with confidential pricing. As I indicated, the clause likely exists in a more relaxed form. Think accommodation and allowance, rather than enforcement.

In 1996, CO, DL and AA signed exclusive supplier agreements with Boeing. Each was scrapped for business and political reasons. Preferred pricing for "exclusive" operators lives on in different forms.

"[A]ll three bought nothing but Boeing and each has a “Most Favored Nation (MFN)” clause that guarantees none will pay more for the airplane than another airline. CAO understands that Boeing’s corporate headquarters provides a certification to the airlines attesting to this MFN when purchases are done."

beckoa

If it ain't Boeing...

Now if Boeing comes out with the yet again rumored 797 .

notquiteaff

No Boeing at my local airport, so if it ain't Bombardier or Embraer I ain't going anywhere.

ashill

When CO and DL acquired Airbus planes through mergers, they also grew to be much larger than they had been as all-Boeing airlines, large enough so that each subfleet was pretty large. ASVX may or may not be large enough to have economies of scale in two separate fleets. Of course, VX alone was large enough to have an Airbus fleet, so it's certainly plausible that ASVX will be large enough to maintain decent-sized Airbus and Boeing flights. No idea if they will.

milypan

Well, it's hard to operate fewer than one type if you're running an airline...

selkirks

The majority (30) of the neos––the 320neos––aren't due until 2020-2022. Plenty of time to get out of the orders if they so choose. I wouldn't be shocked if they decided to move back toward Boeing.

Toshbaf

But I declare that it can make sense to have 25 or more Airbus aircraft to get better pricing from Boeing. They could barely make it work with 20.

BA makes the A318 work with 2 aircraft, soon to be 1 but they have the A320.

atcanobbio

i just completed an AA economy itinerary that consisted of back-to-back 737-800 and A321 flights and it just reminded me how unpleasant flying the 737 is. Even with the sky interior, the 737 still feels cramped vs the A32X.

Too bad AS' fleet will mostly stick to the 737s in the long term.

sullim4

AS needs to retrofit their 800's and the rest of their 900's with space bins. It really opens up the cabin and makes flying the 737 a lot more tolerable for 5-6 hrs.

Frankly I'm surprised they haven't done it on their ETOPS 800's given their competition with the A330's that HA is using. The 800's feel dated and cramped and it's particularly notable if you do a decent amount of flying on the AS transcons that have the newer interior.

channa

Space bins don't address the seat width issue. The bins are really just lipstick on a pig.

ptownca

Not only this, but the VX fleet are much quieter than any 737 from any airline I've flown domestically.

I'm very protective of hearing on a plane. In VX F, it is the only domestic airline besides Mint on B6, where I did not feel the need to have ear plugs in 100% of the time.

As for space, the Airbus 31x, 32x fleet is about 7" wider than a 737 of any generation.

bbinchi

Agreed. After having flown a multiple segment itinerary in AA Economy on A321/319/320/B738 equipment (in that order) I was so disappointed to be back on the 737.

I typically fly in exit rows on AS 737s and at least the tray table is not in the arm rest as on AA. Last time I flew on an AA 737 in an exit row, I was surprised by how narrow the space was between the solid arm rests containing the tray tables. I knew how those seats were designed but the width seemed remarkably tight. Overall I'm much more comfortable on Airbus aircraft.

I very much appreciate how much quieter Airbus cabins tend to be than Boeings. Another positive aspect of the Airbus A320 family jets is their HVAC systems that seem to be much more effective than those on 737s. I'm so tired of being too hot on 737s and I've had several AS pilots explain to me the "known issue" that Boeing supposedly has with infamous 'hot spots' in the 737s cabins. Those pilots have lamented over how difficult it has been to cool down sections of the cabins. I can only attest to having been too warm on many 737 flights and having noticed significant differences in temperature while walking through the cabin on the way to/from aft lavs. And the 'new' air vents on AS's 737s have been mostly ineffective for the aisle seats I've occupied. The air stream has been too weak to offer much relief from being too warm. By contrast, the A319/320/321 cabins I've flown in have been much better ventilated with more even temperature control.

milypan

It's funny, you'd think it would be easy to cool an aircraft when it's -40 degrees outside! Presumably the HVAC system does a poor job of uniformly distributing the heat.

AS Flyer

Neither does flying a widebody to Hawaii, but I hear a lot of people voicing a preference for that. It's all about aesthetics and how it makes you feel - people appreciate the more wide open feeling. Sure, it doesn't change the width of the seats, but it does open up the cabin, making it feel less claustrophobic, even if the seats are still crammed in. Emirates has one of the more cramped cabins with regards to seat width - even on an A380, but people love the bigger airplane and the feeling it gives them as opposed to a narrow body.

dayone

I, too, have been told that that this is know issue with AS and Boeing. The F cabin gets warm, but if the temp is lowered, portions of the Y cabin get too cold.

The bigger issue with the newer 739s is that the AC problem is twofold. The temp is too warm and the airflow is insufficient.

Rumor is that the MAX aircraft allow the temp to be controlled by zone, by the FA, similar to the 77W.