Large (airline) aircraft don't use individual per seat weights, and don't really need to. SWA uses zones; on occasion, usually with very light pax loads (covid anyone?) they will have to move people from one zone to another to make it work on paper. Because airliners have a large CG range and pax have a smaller impact on CG than small aircraft, they're probably not worried so much about being outside of CG limits as they are about being significantly heavier than calculated. My guess is they'll most likely just increase the average weight for large aircraft, while perhaps mandating actual weights for smaller ones. If they do mandate actual weights for large aircraft, it will no doubt be accomplished before the boarding process begins. Since virtually everyone nowadays uses mobile boarding passes it could simply be incorporated into the app. Once on board it won't really matter where you sit, as the seating density and relatively small variances in weight across 100+ people won't hav

(Written on 2021/05/17)(Permalink)

And it's a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes.

(Written on 2021/05/08)(Permalink)

I'm not going to defend what Brian said, but if you're just going to run around stating everyone who says something you don't like is a brainwashed Fox News loving racist moron then you're not really any better than them.

(Written on 2021/05/08)(Permalink)

You know you've gone off the rails when you manage to bring politics and the NRA into a discussion about assaulting a flight attendant...

(Written on 2021/05/08)(Permalink)

Reminds me of the old T shirt saying: Jesus loves you, everyone else thinks you're an A$$hole!

(Written on 2021/05/08)(Permalink)

How is this "new guidance" when it's based on a study conducted in 2017? Oh, and in the study the subjects (mannequins apparently) were not wearing masks. How we can take anything these people say seriously anymore?

(Written on 2021/04/15)(Permalink)

In this case I don't mind the "anonymous sources" because they're not making unfounded accusations, they're simply people who are not authorized to make public statements on behalf of a company and doing so would probably put their job(s) at risk. The information they revealed is not exactly earth shattering, it's just something SWA may not want to state publicly themselves because it could be seen as a slight towards Airbus and could negatively impact future business. Not many people think there was ever really a chance of SWA buying Airbus planes, as the article mentions the economics of a single type fleet are just too great at the moment.

(Written on 2021/04/08)(Permalink)

Some of those planes are sold, but airlines have deferred delivery due to the pandemic. Also between the grounding and the pandemic there have been a lot of cancellations. As part of this order SWA converted 70 Max8 firm orders into Max7 firm orders, so there might be a few extra 8s sitting around because of it. At least for a while Boeing kept making planes when they weren't selling any new ones because of supply chain logistics and other economic factors.

(Written on 2021/03/30)(Permalink)

If people are willing to get on a plane with 175 people and no blocked seats I really don’t think boarding is going to be a huge concern. Not to mention airports are packed now in a lot of places.

(Written on 2021/03/25)(Permalink)

So let me get this straight: the plane can be at full capacity, 143 or 175 people sitting in close proximity. But boarding in groups of more than 10 is somehow too much? Do you ever stop and think before you speak (post)? Do you have to wear a helmet when you leave the house?

(Written on 2021/03/25)(Permalink)