Originally Posted by
Newman55
Actually the 320 has outsold the Max-8 by 3312 to 2654 with a 9 month head start. Not that it really matters... these sales campaigns are determined on a lot of factors. The most important factor is how much money the plane will make the airline with their specific network.
If there was any data showing that a half inch of seat room was causing the airlines to lose revenue, the plane would have stopped selling way back in the 90s.
once you say that that there is "a half inch of seat room" between the 737 and the A320, I almost stopped listening. The 737 has a cabin width of 139" and the A320series has a cabin width of 146", so the actual difference is 7", i.e. slightly more than 1" per seat. While airlines like United going with the cheaper/crappier equipment try to hide the fact, math does not lie.
But I will still express some
About your assertions on sales for the A320neo vs. Max8 (my figures and links below):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...and_deliveries (1985 Max8 orders)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...and_deliveries (3587 A320neo orders).
Originally Posted by
Productivity
Quite frankly I think Boeing have done wonders with the 737 frame. It's amazing how long they've kept it flying and updated, but it's time for a bottoms up redesign. Sadly it remains to be seen if Boeing actually still has the design resources for that, given the eating out of their core teams + the 787 debacle. For all Airbus fans, this is not a good thing no matter how you look at it. Competition moves the industry in the right direction and Boeing struggling is not helping any of us.
Boeing has been victimized by a board that is focused on short term wall-street returns for a long time. They have passed up many opportunities, and the 787 mess was a direct result of trying to off-site the costs of development. Sad to say, but once the McD management took over, Boeing has never been the same.
Originally Posted by
emcampbe
While many on FT may pick flights based on the aircraft that is flying, guaranteed the average passenger doesn't know the difference between a 320 and 737, and many don't even know once they are on it.
I think passengers do notice, and there is a difference in NPS type scores for the A/C. Part of why B6 and VX gets such high scores is that they are all airbus. But I don't think that many (most) passengers would attribute the difference to the A/C type, i.e. airbus vs. Boeing. Its an association that no one pushes, and you only figure out once you fly a lot. And unless Airbus pushes in the general public the association (something they were likely loath to do because in some areas e.g. the B777 in 3-3-3 vs. the A333/340, Boeing was clearly more comfortable) I think it will be a difference people notice, but can't attribute.
A good example, my parents just flew to Hawaii on VX. They said it was much more comfortable than flying UA as they usually do. It was MCS vs. E+, so pitch is similar. I doubt they attributed it to the seat width, but knowing them, I have no doubt that the extra space was part of it.