[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

Makes sense. Allows them to replace more aircraft more quickly. I could see it becoming an issue if the two types run on the same route. Like if a particular A321 has some sort of maintenance issue, and the only spare plane at that airport is a B738. But more often than not, that flight would probably just get cancelled if they couldn't get a pair of 737-certified pilots. They'd probably have more than a few spares of each type anyhow.



I wouldn't doubt that, actually. I'm inclined to believe that they make a lot more on business/first customers. Most people that fly business or first are big shots who don't care about price. As long as its not exorbitant, they just make their secretary book the flight for them. When you're making boatloads of money, you care a lot less about the details of what things cost as long as its in a reasonable ballpark.

Economy passengers on the other hand (Joe Average) follow WestJet's Twitter feed for Blue Tag sales, and surf sites like itravel2000 and Expedia looking for the lowest possible price. Economy sales will fill seats, but I doubt they make a big profit on cattle class.

The one thing that initially struck me as odd though is, I ran a search on their schedule for JFK to LAX, and they had 6 or 7 runs with the 762 that were non-stop, and there were a few other options it gave with 738's, 757's, and 777's, but those were flights going through places like Miami or Dallas. That's why I originally thought the A321 was too small compared to what they were replacing.

But at least for the non-stop flights, they can run more A321's to balance out the numbers. When the difference is only 65 seats (I thought the 762 can do north of 200 seats, probably just AA's config) per plane, then it's probably not that big of a deal.

Besides, when you look at the other options, the B738/9 or A321 are your best bet. Boeing has had 19 deliveries for the 767 in 2013, and no active orders. The plane is pretty much a legend, but it's being replaced with the 787. The 777 and 787 are both overkill for that route, and are mucho-expensive to get. Looking at Airbus, there's the A332, but at list prices, the A321 is literally half the price.

Another thing I just thought of is with so few passengers on a narrow body aircraft, the weight restrictions would be less and it would maximize the range of distance it could travel (as opposed to having an extra 70 passengers or so).



As for an A321 breaking down and having the spare a 738, I suppose that unlikely scenario is possible, but I don't think they have planes sitting idle for very long. Especially long enough to warrant filling in on a specific route.