Originally Posted by
mtofell
That's what I remember reading as well. I'm sure things are all done with an abundance of caution built in. As in, NOT running things the way a teenager plans for gas stops on a road trip.... rolling into the station on fumes
When we took off from PDX on a totally full flight with (presumably) a full load of fuel, I swear I could just feel the plane struggle to get off the ground more than usual. On lighter loads the planes seem to climb like a rocket. This was just a slow climb.
Must be the old engine technology. The -900s and MAX9 both carry 178 pax in total. Th difference is the MAX9 has a maximum range of 3,250 n.m. vs 2,720 n.m. for the -900ER with the plain -900 a good 500 n.m. less. Both the -700 and -800 have more range (200 n.m.+) than the -900ER. Seems that AS will throw MAX9s and -900ERs for the same flight number so a roll of the dice for what equipment one gets. Some days, a -800 is thrown in for good measure.
As for diversions, it seems a few HNL/OGG flights have diverted to KOA the past week. One (-900ER) even flew ~ 1/2 way there before turning around to divert to SFO.