Originally Posted by
mastergamindude
Maybe. If they still had ownership of the 737-400s and the eight 737-700s that were retired for who knows what reason (the ones that were weren’t even the oldest ones in the fleet), I would imagine those would be temporarily reintroduced to supplement the Airbus fleet as it goes mods. That is if the reason for the snail pace for the mods is because of a lack of fleet supplementation. I just wish AS would actually keep the consumers and enthusiasts up to date on their long-term plans and expected completion dates; they’ve been awfully quiet and vague about the VX merger not just for the cabin mods, but also for the Airbus fleet as a whole.
while it might be disappointing to us Avgeeks, I suspect it likely has to do with posturing for the negotiations with Boeing and Airbus for their future fleet plans. Why accelerate/ even finish the cabin mods if you know you’ll be announcing a large 737 MAX order that will start to replace the airbus fleet in the next few years. The cabin mods aren’t cheap, and my thinking is until 100% solidify their fleet plans, they are taking there time. I think the slow retrofit pace could be indicative of AS returning to a mostly 737 fleet in the nearish future. Especially at the likely low price Boeing would be willing to sell them under the current environment. I wouldn’t be too surprised if we see a large Alaska order for the MAX before years end, coupled with an announcement that the a319s and some a320s will have their return date accelerated and that they won’t be refurbished after all. Don’t be surprised if we never see a refurbished A319 if that is the case. (Purely speculation)