<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by wcj1:
When I read the article today on NYTimes about the pilot concessions, I believe it stated that Starfish would be operating Airbus equipment. I was surprised as I thought UA was going to recycle those ex-Shuttle 737's.</font>
I for one would be happy if Airbus became the single-aisle plane for UA. More comfortable, quieter, and nicer amenities (IFE, etc).
As Jana noted, the 733s and 735s are older planes with some of the higher lease payments. In addition, the WNs of the world are buying Next-Generation 737s (73G/738/739), so there is little market for them, I imagine.
With Starfish taking over longer and more business-centric routes, UA needs to keep Economy Plus-configured 737s to keep business and elite travellers, so I imagine the first 737s kicked to the curb will be the ex-Shuttle planes (can I get a hallelujah?) and then mainline 733s, followed by 735s.
[This message has been edited by SEA_Tigger (edited 03-28-2003).]