America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - Airbus/Boeing hybrid in F

Last night I was on a LAS-OAK flight. I booked this particular flight because it was an A320(12 seats = better upgrade chances). Anyway I get on the plane only to discover that F seats were the kind from the 737's except that there were 12 seats versus 8.

Has anyone else flown on this old plane? I didn't know that the older 320's had the boeing seats.

GREENSBORO, N.C., July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: TMAS - News) announced that America West selected the company's subsidiary, Brice Manufacturing Company, for its fleet renewal program. The work scope includes seating for America West's 22 new Airbus A320/A319 aircraft and the possibility of follow-up work to retrofit a number of aircraft in its current fleet.

TIMCO also has announced the renewal of its multiple-year contract with America West for the supply of heavy maintenance services for the carrier's Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Airbus A319/320 fleets at TIMCO's Macon, Ga. (TIMCO-MCN), and Lake City, Fla. (TIMCO-LCQ), facilities.


I have been on many AWA 320's this year with 737 seats on them. I've seen this most often in coach. Some 737's also have the newer 320 seats in them.

I guess AWA just signed the contract to update the fleet. The older 320's and 737's are looking dirty and grungy.

Hi Y'all,

I've seen those 737/757 seats on the Airbus' quite a few times. Also note that the bulkhead has the older dark blue background with small multi-colored squares instead of the newer two-toned-gray zig-zag pattern.

I wonder if these planes were the ones originally with Braniff as those planes were the 1st A320s in the HP fleet ?? (Braniff Chapter II only physically flew about 6 A320s before going bankrupt a 2nd time ... but the deliveries kept coming due to the fact that Braniff was under Chapter 11 protection. I think they took delivery of about 12-15 before they were cut off... The planes were stored at Las Vegas until HP took them. They were part of an order for 50 from Pan Am but Braniff purchased the delivery slots before the planes were built ... don't know where the delivery positions that Braniff lost ended up going but all that Braniff technically took delivery on ...most of which were delivered unpainted ..went to HP).

Sorry 'bout the history lesson, but I'm a big Braniff Nut ;)
Back to topic ... I actually prefer the "old" seats to the new ones. The new seats look more modern but to me they all seem to be "bottomed out". There's an uncomfortable hole for my skinny to sit in. And I seem to slip and slide in them more often (as in sliding down the seat and constantly pulling myself back up). Very tiring on that PHX-TPA flight I frequently take. The old seats offer more support and allow me to sit up the whole flight.

Have only seen old seats on A320s (not 319s) and only on the shorter segments. Again making me think these are the Braniff Birds (some of the original A320s so maybe not as advanced/long-range as newer models ... that's just my theory, not fact)

The 319's were ordered much later thus they have a newer interior layout with seats than the earlier 320's. The older planes I have noticed also have the overhead units that say no smoking and stuff in blue as opposed to newer planes where it is in that gold color. At least there has been no mixing of types on the same plane :p, and the new order will have new seats. Hey look at it this way the more they use the old ones the faster they will wear out and be replaced :D

Sorry .. off topic again ....

Hi flyingcat,
I see you're DAB (Daytona Beach) based.
HP Silver way out there ? Quite an accomplishment :cool:

Any chance you're at Embry-Riddle ?
Class of '81 myself.
Now living in Phoenix (easier to get HP Elite than DAB) and ironically, only 40 miles from Riddle's Prescott campus which was started when I was there with them at DAB.

Steve

"They were part of an order for 50 from Pan Am but Braniff purchased the delivery slots before the planes were built ... don't know where the delivery positions that Braniff lost ended up going but all that Braniff technically took delivery on ...most of which were delivered unpainted ..went to HP"

Actually, PanAm ordered only 16 A320. These planes were delivered to Braniff II as part of their order for 50 A320; the planes that BN II did NTU before going bust were delivered to the lessor/financier and later HP.

I just transfered to daytona beach campus only this past fall and all of my family is in the Los Angeles area and my fiance was at UNR so I really racked up the miles with all those weekend trips including using the prescott-phoenix run to get that 500 mile bonus. Getting silver out of daytona was not that hard just got use to going through LAS and PHX in one trip :p . This holiday season I am planning to sign up for the gold challenge and with the itinerary I have setup I just about get over the 11,500 miles :D .

HP has a bunch of A320's configured this way. I've been on them many, many times. In fact, I think it was all they had for a while, until they started buying them new.

In my experience, there are pros and cons to them. The old seatbacks are very thick and recline further into your space if you have a seat in front of you, which is a drag. Personally, I think they're more comfortable than the Airbus seats, though some of them seem to somehow be mounted higher, at a little more uncomfortable distance from the floor (can you tell I'm not 6'5"? :) )

On the other hand, there is A LOT more underseat storage on the old seats than the Airbus seats afford. On a packed, business-traveler flight with lots of big overhead bags, it is nice that you can at least put your briefcase or computer bag under the seat in front of you. Mine won't fit underneath the Airbus seats.

I'll admit that the old seats are comfortable,however, I don't like the lack of an adjustable headrest.

I just like the look of the new airbus seats. My rear end isn't picky so I can usually get comfortable anywhere. :D

. . . I don't like the lack of an adjustable headrest. . . :D

Great point that I forgot -- the adjustable headrest is a big plus -- especially for sleeping on a longer flight.

Speaking of F. What's with that creaking sound when you recline in the airbus seats? They sound like they need oil. Some seats creak while others don't.

Speaking of F. What's with that creaking sound when you recline in the airbus seats? They sound like they need oil. Some seats creak while others don't.

Some don't? I have yet to experience one of those. ;)