What happened to the a350 order?
May 8, 2019, 1:08 pm
#46
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I have .... find it downright comical to call the 781 J seat bad or displeasurable. It was quite comfortable - I'd have no problem circling the globe in it.
Now, back to the topic at hand.... I'm not an Airbus fan, but I don't necessarily see the A350 order staying as-is. I see it as a pending new A321neo fleet - would let them sunset the 757's which are getting quite long in the tooth.
Now, back to the topic at hand.... I'm not an Airbus fan, but I don't necessarily see the A350 order staying as-is. I see it as a pending new A321neo fleet - would let them sunset the 757's which are getting quite long in the tooth.
May 8, 2019, 1:11 pm
#47
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. I hope you're correct. (They couldn't possibly be worse than the SQ A359 J seats -- but then, I don't see any chance that UA would use those seats, so it's not really relevant to a conversation of the pros and cons of the A359 itself).
May 8, 2019, 1:44 pm
#48
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Yes, it is pure speculation, based upon their repeated failure to take delivery of an Airbus widebody. I believe any pro-Airbus statements are nothing but a negotiating tactic, especially public ones.
I may be proven wrong. I don't care for the A350 myself, but then again, I haven't had the (dis)pleasure of flying the 781 J seat yet. Since UA will presumably try to squeeze 1-2-1 Polaris seating into the A350 (if they were to accept it), I imagine it'd be somewhat less cramped.
I continue to believe that the likely 772 replacement is the 77X. I think Boeing would like customers to take the 777X as a 772 replacement, but the capacity seems wrong. I think UA would be interested in the 777-7X, but that one doesn't seem to be on the table.
I may be proven wrong. I don't care for the A350 myself, but then again, I haven't had the (dis)pleasure of flying the 781 J seat yet. Since UA will presumably try to squeeze 1-2-1 Polaris seating into the A350 (if they were to accept it), I imagine it'd be somewhat less cramped.
The A350 as currently conceived just isn’t as efficient as the 789 on similar missions, and so with the 789 already in the fleet, along with a decade of life left in fully-depreciated 77Es, it doesn’t make a great deal of sense for United to invest in today’s 350-900/1000. That’s the impression I get from UA management.
A 777-7X is right capacity-wise, but as a shrink it would be so heavy as to make it a guaranteed loser.
All bets are off if Boeing develops a 787-10ER, but that would require much more engineering work than simply adding fuel tanks because the landing gear structure is at or near its limit. It would be interesting to see what Boeing developed for its Project Sunrise entry...
May 8, 2019, 3:09 pm
#49
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Fair; I'll reserve judgement, then. I just find the 77W Polaris seats tight, so I expect the 781 seats to be worse. . I hope you're correct. (They couldn't possibly be worse than the SQ A359 J seats -- but then, I don't see any chance that UA would use those seats, so it's not really relevant to a conversation of the pros and cons of the A359 itself).
. I hope you're correct. (They couldn't possibly be worse than the SQ A359 J seats -- but then, I don't see any chance that UA would use those seats, so it's not really relevant to a conversation of the pros and cons of the A359 itself).Last edited by WineCountryUA; May 8, 2019 at 6:03 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
May 8, 2019, 3:18 pm
#50
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No, it isn't. It can't be, because the 787 cabin is substantially narrower. They couldn't fit a 1x2x1 layout with the same seat. Instead, the angles are different and the seat itself is narrower. United claims that the 77W seats are 22" wide, and lists the 781 seats as 20.5" wide.
May 8, 2019, 5:16 pm
#51
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May 8, 2019, 5:20 pm
#52
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Polaris 787 seat is noticeably narrower than 777, narrow shoulder width and also narrow seat exit (in window or interior seat). I would still fly it as I'm not that large and can sleep fine in it. It's not as narrow as SQ 78J seat though.
May 8, 2019, 6:07 pm
#53
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May 8, 2019, 8:33 pm
#54
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FWIW (not much), my son and I were at the MileagePlus Exclusives simulator event at the Denver training center Friday, and the facility chief casually mentioned they’d ordered a 350 simulator and have a spot for it among their 30+ other ones (320/737/767/777/787).
The event/day was fantastic though! 😀
The event/day was fantastic though! 😀
Last edited by WineCountryUA; May 8, 2019 at 9:26 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
May 8, 2019, 10:01 pm
#55
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772 (pmUA/IPTE) = 19-19.6”
772 (pmCO/Diamond) = 22”
788/789 (Diamond) = 20.6”
763 (Diamond) = 20.6”
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...t/default.aspx
May 9, 2019, 6:31 am
#56
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FWIW (not much), my son and I were at the MileagePlus Exclusives simulator event at the Denver training center Friday, and the facility chief casually mentioned they’d ordered a 350 simulator and have a spot for it among their 30+ other ones (320/737/767/777/787).
The event/day was fantastic though! 😀
The event/day was fantastic though! 😀
May 9, 2019, 8:08 am
#57
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The seat is sub-par compared to the competition. I will book away for long-haul, including selecting other carriers that have not tried to jam too many seats into not enough space.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; May 9, 2019 at 12:55 pm Reason: discuss the issues; not the poster(s)
May 9, 2019, 8:38 am
#58
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The reality is that Americans are on average big people and there is an over-index of big men in J on US carriers. It seems like going up against AA and DL which have bigger seats with enough room, with a squeezed down seat, especially on the ULR flights that UA flies on the 787, is not such a hot plan long term.
It reminds me of ITPE, where the seat was leading when it came out (Polaris is not) but by the time they were done with the retrofit, the narrowness was an issue compared to competitor seats. And given that UA's soft product and service is far behind the curve, with a lot of people on this board saying they will only take UA due to the 777 Polaris seat, I wonder how locking in a narrower version of this long term will play.
It maybe that United is simply not trying to compete for unmanaged traffic, and that their plans are all aimed at delivering as low of cost product for Corporate Accounts as possible. But I just don't see that this is a workable approach, especially when the next downturn comes around.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; May 9, 2019 at 12:56 pm Reason: quote update to reflect Moderator edit
May 9, 2019, 8:44 am
#59
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It maybe that United is simply not trying to compete for unmanaged traffic, and that their plans are all aimed at delivering as low of cost product for Corporate Accounts as possible. But I just don't see that this is a workable approach, especially when the next downturn comes around.
May 9, 2019, 1:01 pm
#60
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Lets hope United swaps the A350 for the "C-series", or A220, at least 100 of those planes would be amazing!
Oh and for what its worth the J seat on SQ A350 is crap, I would take the new Polaris seat any day.
Oh and for what its worth the J seat on SQ A350 is crap, I would take the new Polaris seat any day.