GoAmtrak

I may need to start bringing a pillow to literally save my tuchus on these birds.

Any experiences in row 7? Has the legroom been decimated there?

Hartmann

The legroom in row 7 is intact and I have started booking that row when on an A320.

Bonehead

The only possible saving grace.

halls120

Your point?

I believe they have 30 new build 739's on order, however.

spin88

Alaska is adding power to all of these Recaro seats this fall. http://splash.alaskasworld.com/Newsr...423_045423.asp

Seats are approved so there is no regulatory impediment for UAL, not sure why (other than cheapness) they are not doing this at the same time... I am sure that Alaska has waited till the fall so as not to have aircraft out of commission, but UAL is pulling the birds from the fleet, so no good explanation other than perhaps cost not to do it at one time.

As to the DL thing, your 411 is again wrong. Both the 777LRs (10) and the 737-700s (10) have come in the last "3-5 years." http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...aft-fleet.html. And the entire A330 fleet was delivered in 2009-2010. http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/D...ctive-a330.htm

Delta took a huge number of new widebody deliveries in 2009-2011. It would have been more accurate to say that Delta has not taken any new MAINLINE deliveries in two years. During this time though DL has added a huge number of CRJ900/EJR-170/175/190s, a large slug of 717s, and is adding 30 739ERs in the next 9-12 months.

JDS747

Interesting as to why it says something completely different on the two links you posted. Delta's website shows an average age for the A330-200 at 8.2 years and the A330-300 at 7.8 years. Last I checked we are still in 2013 so if they were all delivered in 2009-2010 then someone over at Delta can't do math!

EWR764

Seems like the exit rows are now to be avoided on the reconfigured birds. Reports of shorter, harder, lower seat cushions seem to be related to the exit doors, not to mention the dramatically reduced exit row pitch.

Once certifications are achieved on all items, future ships going into the shop should have everything completed at once: bins, wifi, new seats, power, interior mods as necessary. Waiting to do all the mods at once from the beginning would likely take even more time, since a number of STC have to be secured to get the new equipment and systems on the airplanes.

The new A319 configuration needs a STC, as does the power mod. Neither have been achieved, to my knowledge. Each project is also sourced differently, so materials and equipment are not on a coordinated schedule yet, though it is my understanding that later aircraft will have the modifications carried out all at once, as needed.

austin_res

American has taken delivery of 737-800s with in-seat power already installed. I don't see seat manufacturer issues as the hold up for United; but if it really is the case, you would think United would have chosen a different seat manufacturer instead of letting this issue drag on indefinitely.

GoAmtrak

Great to know, thank you. ^

fly18725

Alaska has been taking delivery of new aircraft with the Recaro seats without power. They, like United, will be reconfiguring previously installed seats to install power. You can disagree with me that the seats were not previously certified for power without making up other facts.

I should have said Delta has not taken any mainline deliveries in the last 3 years. Regardless, it reflects a general sense of ignorance regarding the aircraft configuration and certification process (and perhaps, an inherent bias towards current United management) to argue that Delta is a better managed airline because United is reconfiguring aircraft in stages or taking delivery of new aircraft with temporary seats.

American has a different seat and, I believe, a different power system.

There are only a handful of airplane seat manufacturers and its not so simple to just go to another one and order some different seats.

fivevsone

Good thought. The exit door arm rest is higher than the level of the seat arm rest which is awkward.

spin88

You are correct and I was forgetting these seats are going on a Airbus, not a 737. But how difficult is the STC process for something like this? If UAL does the seats (which are flying now) they need to get a STC. And if they later do the power they need to get a second STC, right? But if they did them at the same time, it does not delay the process, they get a STC for both mods to the original airplane. So I don't understand the issue with approvals? I thought the sign off for the seat was not airplane specific (testing of seat on a sled, etc is generic) so the STC process should not be longer for Power vs. the seat?

No I am not saying that it is inherently bad to not do mods at the same time. If UA was replacing old warn out seats with BETTER seats, I would be saying great, roll out the good new seats now, don't wait...

What I am saying is that UA has customer satisfaction results in the gutter. Polls of its top fliers show them to be unhappy with the airline, and that they are moving business from UAL. Revenue performance is bad. UAL is not doing well in the fight for corporate contacts. The perception is that everything UAL does is a take away. So why would UAL do a series of take aways (new harder seats, no IFE) and not do a useful upgrade (power) at the same time.

I know that you don't believe in competition (best to not compete, just cut supply and raise fares right? Its what Savvy management does ) but while you might not recognize it, there are other airlines out there, and they trying hard to get UALs best customers. Why UAL would want to give them a worse experience on a large part of its fleet is beyond me...

fly18725

I can guarantee there is a compelling logistical reason power is not installed concurrently with the new seats. If there wasn't, you'd be implying United is doing this to intentionally frustrate customers.

It would be helpful if everyone realized some processes are slow because they are extremely complicated, not because United (or another company) is trying to drive customers away.

EWR764

Actually, I was wrong, I think the STC for the A319 seats has just been issued, or will be shortly. The process for certificating a system is the same whether it is done all at once, or done as the systems are sourced and installed. Therefore, it is not advantageous to do all at once unless the hardware is installed concurrently, which is obviously the logistical challenge preventing this. Theoretically, if UA was able to line up all the suppliers so that everything could be delivered at once and installed on the airplane, the process would move along faster, but even if UA made the decision to move forward with all the mods at once, they would still be at the mercy of supplier schedules. Naturally, some components take longer to source than others for a panoply of reasons.

The sign-off on the seat design is not airplane specific, but the installation is, with a fairly intensive certification process including a LOPA, various approvals, a battery of tests and FAA review. This is why airlines can't simply change configurations on a whim, unless, of course, the aircraft is certified as a QC (quick change), which comes with its own unique set of regulatory hurdles

edcho

Wish they kept IFE on these birds... atleast until they worked out the WiFi issues. With WiFi experiences similar to this ...

http://upgrd.com/blogs/cloudcommutin...e-results.html

... i'm probably going to be in the dark I ever forget to bring my iPad with pre-loaded content.