Originally Posted by SEA_Tigger
I doubt AA would welcome AS operating a SEA-NRT
I am not sure I understand your logic here. Why would AA care whether AS operates SEA-NRT??? AA gave up the route a couple of years ago (moved it to LAX).
Originally Posted by Snowdevil
According to someone "in the know," part of the deal on the 65 options are the ability to convert as many or as few as AS wants to B-737-900X aircraft, which Boeing's board will be meeting next week to discuss the official program launch of.
The proposals I've seen for the 739X feature extended range (thanks to auxiliary tanks), two additional emergency exits just aft of the wings, and seating configurations closing in on the 200 mark.
Yes, the 739X (the "737-900 Stretch"??) is about the size of the 757-200. Certainly the seat mile economics will be excellent, if AS can fill the seats with reasonable fares.
But why on earth would AS introduce additional complexity into their fleet. I was hoping that they would settle on 2 or possibly 3 aircraft types -- because frankly that's the only way TANGO and other cost cutting measures are going to work. Certainly, it's one of the secrets of WN's success. At least, it appears that AS will settle on multiple versions of the 737NG's (73G/738/739/739X). I am assuming these are all common rated for the pilots.