Originally Posted by
jdrtravel
But there must be a reason why a carrier would have preferred one over the other? IIRC, the NW configuration sort of has two coach cabins--there is a bulk head in the middle of Y.....was this ever meant to be a three class plane? (though that would be a very large J class)?
Perhaps some of our PMNW "old-timers" could weigh in, but one thing comes to mind: the "mini-cabin" seems perfect for a smoking section. IIRC Delta was the first US airline to go smoke-free on domestic flights (~1990) I think. Perhaps other airlines saw the "mini-cabin" as a smoking section, while DL had no need for one.
Purely conjecture, but either way, airlines order slight variations (i.e. RR vs. GE engines) of aircraft all the time, based on many factors.