Originally Posted by
tuolumne
I do have to wonder if this unilateral decision to ban all PW 777s for this length of time, or at all, would have taken place in an environment where Covid wasn't occurring - Even in a post 737-Max world.
Imagine the amount of overnight capacity reduction, and associated cancellations across the system in a UA circa 2019 were this to occur. I'm candidly sure what the least-messy contingency plan would be here. And I certainly would expect a different tenor and tone from the company to the FAA behind closed doors and in public.
I don't have to wonder or imagine. I don't think the airline or pilots want to fly unsafe aircraft. Not only do the pilots want to arrive alive as much as the passengers do, I don't think the airline management wants the risk to very expensive capital assets or (worse( the liability risk from operating a ticking time bomb. Cheaping out on food or amenities as Kirby has done don't pose these risks. United isn't Lion Air. A capacity reduction like this in a pre-pandemic world would have resulted in higher ticket prices -- simple supply and demand.