Originally Posted by
SJC AA
Why do they need a sub-fleet for the 757s?
IIRC not all of AA's 757 are overwater (rafts etc.) equipped. And with a subfleet overall maintenance costs are probably lower as not all the 757 have to be maintained to ETOPS requirements.
All the other 757 that operate over the continental USA can be non-ETOPs, non-overwater, saving the equivalent of one peanut / year / passenger.