Superguy

I'm curious as to why, if this is so, the 747 and 767 didn't get it as well?

uastarflyer

They won't be in the fleet for as long before being retired. Less ROI.

flyinbob

Aren't some 744s newer than 777s?

777Brian

Yes, in fact according to a slightly dated annual report, looks like about 9 of the 744s were delivered in 1999 (so newer than the 95-99 772s). About half the 744s were delivered prior to 1994. So as a fleet the 744s are about 3-4 years total age younger than 777s (with more 777s delivered after 1999 than total 744s). However, given the four engine efficiencies the 744s will likely leave the fleet first (as implied by the 350 and 787 order). You could keep some of the newer 744s but you would end up with a very small fleet of only a handful of airframes. Some of the routes the 744 flies require 2-3 airframes a day, depending on maintenance schedules, so really that becomes inefficient (spare parts, crews, planning). Also UAs strategy is some level of consistency imagine the uproar here if you got a 744 with advanced in seat entertainment and then an older one on the way home without. I've seen some cost numbers, adding in seat IFE to a 744 is costly and with already high load factors additional passengers or higher fares just don't result in a sufficient IRR.

schley

IMO the new Y perks with this conversion will be a very welcomed addition indeed. The lie flat seats in C is great but if you are trapped in Y the AVOD will be nice for me as I don't use any ancillary device to watch anything.

Skymonster

IIRC there was a suggestion that the IFE architecture on the 777 was different to the "older generation" 747 and 767 and that on the 777 if you did VOD in the front you had to do it in the back too. And that also drove the need to upgrade the Y cabin on the 777, as the current Y seats supposedly cannot support VOD (seems reasonable as they're not touch screens and the controllers don't have forward/backward/stop/start etc). And that drove the change to 3+3+3, because the floor boxes for the new system can only support three seats each. Maybe completely incorrect, but that was the story being floated a while ago.

Andy

bmvaughn

Additional confirmation of AVOD in Y in the press:
http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.c...on-demand.html

FriendlySkies

^^^

It's about time we hear something about the AVOD. If only UA would release a seatmap and update the suitedreams site to show an aircraft currently being reconfigured!

richk_30

The IFE system is the same regardless of aircraft type as it is considered a closed system. The differences in aircraft type pertain to how aircraft information is obtained (Flight Data, PA, etc.) and how F/A calls and reading light requests are made. These are separate systems from the IFE system.

The IFE system is completely configurable such that it would be possible to do VOD in the front and broadcast movies in the back, though this is actually more work than just doing VOD throughout.

As for the change to 3-3-3, this has been commented on before, but the reasoning you state is incorrect. There were several factors involved that caused this to happen but the reason stated is not one of them.

magemarq

I know this has been mentioned before but Brett Snyder in the article must not be thinking this through.

"but there's nothing worse than being in the 'double excuse me' seat in the middle of five [seats]," .

The new configuration will result in two double excuse me seats per row. One at each window.

bmvaughn

Hadn't thought of that... good call ^

retsef

From Aviation Daily April 1, 2010 Edition..........Not April Fool's either


United Airlines is expected to place its first retrofitted Boeing 777 into service at the end of April. The retrofit will replace a 2x5x2 seating configuration in economy class with a 3x3x3 layout and increase Economy Plus from a maximum of 84 seats to 104 seats. Business class will be upgraded from 45-49 seats to 40 lie-flat beds, while the number of first-class “suites” will fall from 10-12 to eight. The retrofitted 777s will be integrated into the current long-haul network and not assigned to specific routes. United operates 56 777s.

jhayes_1780

yep, early April has been mentioned in the master thread for quite some time now:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-seats-16.html

milepig

I've been trying to make this point for years, and I believe this was the original rationale for 2-5-2. Think of it like this (the numbers = number of seats between you and the aisle):

1-0 0-1-2-1-0 0-1

vs.

2-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-2

Twice as many people need to crawl over 2 people with 3-3-3.

paytonc

What's not true? Adding 21 E+ seats, adding 2 coach seats, or that many companies require that their employees fly in coach? Or were you the one who posted "i work for united airlines and we can fly first class" on the Trib site, thereby showing off that you misread "adopted by many companies" as "adopted by United"? (Oh, and us paying customers sometimes like to fly up front, too.)

Reading comprehension: :-: