GoBucks27

Flying CLE-IAH on 1/7 & 1/14; probably 1/21 too.

Noticed that there are fewer flights CLE to IAH. Only 5.

And oh by the way, where did all the Boeing 737-800's go?
On 1/7; 1 of 5 is on 800; all others on airbus.

Seems united has pilfered the good equipment from this lane and stuck us with their outdated airbus

IMO, CLE passengers not feeling any love from united

mduell

Throughout the system.

Wider seats and complimentary IFE are upgrades to some, downgrades to others.

buckeyefanflyer

You are seeing alot of Airbuses at CLE on many routes, EWR and IAH. I notice alot more 737's going through ORD and DEN. Some of the CLE based FA's are not thrilled becuase they are loosing the opportunity to fly to some destinations. TPA, PHX, LAX, LAS, and SFO, even FLL and MCO.

PV_Premier

an interesting thing i have noticed is that there is more and more pmUA equipment/crews on pmCO legacy routes, and more and more pmCO equipment/crews on pmUA legacy routes. i would like to believe this has to do with SMI/J trying to mix up the two corporate cultures more, by circulating legacy crews to unfamiliar hubs and routes, but that would be too optimistic of an assumption on my part i believe.

qvzn

How does putting the same crew+equipment on a different route "mix up [the] cultures"? They get to interact with different ground staff?

I would think the reason would have more to do with best possible utilization of resources (i.e., capacity) now that they're operating together. This synergy is a big part of why mergers happen in the first place, and it's not altogether bad--unless you're stuck with the short straw

LASUA1K

I'm guessing you have never step foot on a UA Airbus! Plenty of scummy dirty old 737-800 flying around ORD. I would love too trade.

mlx52

Agreed, most of the non Sky Interior 73s feel as if they were built in the 70/80s. Much prefer the Airbus over the 73s.

EmailKid

Just be happy you're flying mainline

Call it what you will, I like my chances for u/g a lot better on 738 than A320

It's putting equipment where it meets the need @:-)

An FA told me that sUA and sCO are sharing a base at IAH, so there is mixing there. She even traded a sCO scarf, so apparently there is some goodwill

Again, for the most part, you can have your Airbii in coach, while I tend to have much better success clearing u/g on 737/8/9

OTOH, it sucks to be stuck in the back with no IFE (I will NOT pay for DirecTV).

And most all of the 735s have been retired, so that leaves much newer 73G, 738, 739 and 739ER

And I'm sure I'll offend some, but I for one can't tell the difference in the width of the seats. Just glad PMCO birds now have E+

EmailKid

GoAmtrak

It's subtle and not material to skinny twerps like me. What makes the difference is padding/ergonomics (in both cabins, but especially in Y). Would I rather be in Airbus Y instead of sCO Boeing F? Of course not, but it really hurts the B in BIS when the upgrade fails on the latter.

EmailKid

Well, just flew 757 Exit Row, so even narrower seating, and since I wasn't willing to pay $550 + miles for a shot at u/g (actually could have had it, there was R space when I booked), coach it was both ways on EWR-DUB. IIRC same seat in steerage as 737, and wasn't too sore after 7+ hours of flying.

Next flight on the DreamLiner, and while it didn't bother me, that seat was quite a bit narrower And I was quite lucky, as I believe seat B next to me was the only free on on the whole plane, otherwise I may have found out about the touching shoulders others have complained about.

But back OT, my own self has a much greater chance for u/g on 738 than an A320. Or 73G than an A319 @:-)

EmailKid

WIRunner

i swear that I had read here that the Airbii are being moved to IAH and the 37's are being moved to DEN. This could explain seeing more A319/20 going CLE-IAH than before.

EmailKid

You and I read the same thing.

Already had a couple of A320 DFW-IAH flights. Still no mainline to DAL

EmailKid

QBK

Supposedly the 737s have better hot-n-high performance, so will operate out of DEN. IAH is a bigger operation, so I don't think DEN will absorb all the 737s, but I expect to see a lot more Airbii at IAH as the 737s move to DEN routes.

I get the feeling that airframe utility optimization is a lot more complicated than most of us realize. Obviously the Airbii can operate out of DEN just fine (F9 invested in a 100% Airbus fleet specifically for DEN), but if the 737 can use 1% less fuel or carry a couple tons extra cargo, that could make a significant difference to the bottom line. Witness the 744s on the SYD routes, where they appear to be unnecessary (777 can fly the route, and the 744s rarely go out full)... except that the 744s are lifting a LOT more freight.

JOSECONLSCREW28

sCO is also sharing sUA bases in IAD, ORD, LAX, SFO & DEN. However still only FAs may only fly on their legacy airline aircraft, sCO can only work sCO aircraft, and sUA can only work sUA aircraft regardless if their sCO based in ORD, or sUA based in IAH.

Not necessarily those CLE based FAs can pick up out of base trips in open time. I'm NTA and sometimes I pick up trips from EWR domestic.

EmailKid

Thanks for letting us know about the other bases.

And yes, I think many of us remember that legacy FAs fly with legacy airframes, but a good reminder for those that don't.

EmailKid