Aviation BS and Photo Thread

I can barely tell the difference between a 737 and an a320 so don't feel bad

 

Don’t say those words in this thread please. This is a family place and your discrimination of the 737 is unwelcome.

 

As someone who worked for a major supplier for both: Airbus corporate can go play in traffic.

Boeing is ruthless in supply chain costs (understandably), but Airbus tries to do that while being ABSURDLY difficult. For example: Requiring you build to their provided parts forecast, but having no legal obligation to buy the stock if the demand is less than forecasted (which it always is by like 50%). One time we tried to call their bluff and built to historical (and very consistent) supply levels. That didn't go so well when they surprise audited us...

 

On the subject of building airplanes,

Why does Boeing continue enhancing and building the 737 platform, after discontinuing the 757?

I do like the 737 and have nothing against it. I have never heard Boeing's reasoning, and am just curious. And I am aware of how technologically advanced the 737 MAX platform is - though I have not had the opportunity to ride in one.

Again - not complaining, just curious.

 

I don’t have an official answer, but I imagine it there are two main reasons.

The 737 is the most widely sold airliner across the world and it is used in many different parts of commercial aviation. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But the 2nd part is more important....if they can upgrade the same platform, all of those airlines can continue to order the same plane without have to pay for new type ratings for their pilots and the same maintenance programs. Southwest is a prime example of using the many generations of the 737 without costing the company any more money.

 

My understanding was it was a matter of market space and timing really. The 757 was a narrow body, single aisle, but it was the size of a larger "class" of airliner. So a lot of the regional airlines thought it was too big, and the transatlantic airlines though it was too small. It was all a question of cost vs. revenue. Add in the extra supply chain costs and type certs and it just didn't work. At the same time, Boeing was getting pressure to make longer and better versions from the 737 community, and I think it all kind of cannibalized any chance the 757 had of staying alive.

 

That makes sense.

I'm sure the type ratings costs the airlines plenty of money.

 

But isn't a longer and better 737 more or less a 757?

Perhaps the 757 was just before its time.

 

737 Max9's are basically 757s with stubby legs. 757s really didn't sell well when they were being produced, but now Delta and United are scooping them up and renovating them. They just called out Boeing for not having a replacement anymore. Apparently the max 9 isn't scratching the itch, since Boeing only managed to sell something like 250 or 300 at this point despite being a similar platform.

Airbus' A321NEO offering which is comparable is about 4x that with 1200ish sold, but even that is a relatively small number by commercial airline sales standards. The upcoming A321LR is marketed as the 757 replacement with 30% lower operating cost thanks to the new LEAP motors.

It'll be curious to see what the Middle of Market segment holds in the future. I'm thinking Boeing is feeling the pressure these days regardless with upper 737 model sales are slack and middle market penetration is not going well and freighters are the only real thing keeping the 747 on life support.

 

I’m flying one of the two remaining classic paint liveries today.

 

The number of plans manufactured/sold is quite something.

I wonder how much longer the 747 will be in production. The freight market is big and growing every day.

 

The way your picture presented with your sig, at a glance I thought that 737 had gunmetal SCS wheels on it. Talk about new market penetration!

 

Out of curiosity, I went to Boeing's site - Boeing Commercial

They are building quite a selection of aircraft. But I didn't see a price list...

 

OK, here's a question. Is age 45 too late to get your helicopter license if you want to fly for EMS?

 

How poor are you willing to be for the 5-10 years it will take to gain the experience necessary to fly for a decent HEMS company and get paid decently?

 

I can live on 40K a year until I get there.

 

Have you done much research on the flight training and career progression process yet?

 

I saw a stat a few years back that there are 1,300 airborne 737s at any given time.

The freighter wave really kept the 747 line open. At one point the line go so thin, Boeing was gonna shrink the line to 6 tails a year, with a 20 tail backlog. In comparison, 737s are produced at a rate of 52 tails/month with a backlog of ~4,700 tails!

 

I have. My Dropzone is connected to northeast helicopters so i've gone in there to find out the path. I just wanted someone else take on it. It's a big investment and wanted to get a few opinions.