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American Airlines' 2016 Fleet Plan
Some of the highlights for 2016 include taking delivery of the 787-9 Dreamliner, new 737-800s, and its last two 777-300ERs. (airwaysnews.com) Más...
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That scheme that AA has had for the MD-80's always reminded me of a big giant Air Stream camper taking off and landing. Time for them to go I suppose
Wouldn't it be more cost effective for an airline to standardize its fleet from a single manufacturer (unless there is a specific, overwhelming reason)? It seems that maintenance and the interchangeability of parts would make the overall price for maintenance less.
I have absolutely no idea. If any of you readers happen to be better versed on the "inside baseball" of airlines, would you please enlighten me?
I am so glad that AA has finally changed its livery. The current livery is much more elegant to me.
I have absolutely no idea. If any of you readers happen to be better versed on the "inside baseball" of airlines, would you please enlighten me?
I am so glad that AA has finally changed its livery. The current livery is much more elegant to me.
A homogenous fleet is at higher risk of being affected by the same issue, and diversity of types gives you better leverage to maximize mission effectiveness.
Exactly...we all know what happened at AA when the FAA grounded their entire MD80 fleet for mandatory wiring inspections. There were cancellations galore as that one frame made up a large portion of their domestic aircraft. Diversity would avoid such an issue.
Matt's response caused me to remember AA having a history of maintenance problems, enough for them to stand out in my memory. I did a little research and discovered that the MD80's were grounded due to AA's maintenance, not due to design problems. Given my motive is not to denegrate AA, I did a little more research and discovered that many US carriers are now outsourcing their maintenance to foreign countries. I found the following article interesting and would love to hear from you all who are much more enlightened than I am: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/airplane-maintenance-disturbing-truth
To a degree but they are merging two existing fleets and absorbing pre-existing orders. If the fleet is large enough they have the ability to concentrate maintenance by type, not just manufacturer thereby overcoming many of the issues raised in your post.
US Airways had started moving toward the A32x fleet before the merger with American. Boeing was feeling a bit threatened by the move and the undercurrent from AA, moving away from the 757 and 767 to the A321 for transcontinental routes, so it offered a better deal to split the massive order AA placed for A320s and 737s. That was a bit of bet hedging on the part of AA.
But there may be another factor: While the "Super 80s" are leaving service at the end of their life, the 737s and A320s really aren't going away anytime soon. There may be union requirements that AA had to fulfill in maintaining various types of aircraft to satisfy labor contract requirements.
But there may be another factor: While the "Super 80s" are leaving service at the end of their life, the 737s and A320s really aren't going away anytime soon. There may be union requirements that AA had to fulfill in maintaining various types of aircraft to satisfy labor contract requirements.
