I looked at the Delta website ...... what I saw in late October was that it is a code share on Air France with Air France being the operator on a 777 200 Fares are confusing .... they offer a teaser at $750 return in Y but the regular coach fare is $2500

(Written on 2022/08/12)(Permalink)

Could be a code share??

(Written on 2022/08/12)(Permalink)

I am corporate flight crew. I did a flight to Papeete in January and our organizer put me on Air Tahiti Nui, and it was horrible. The flight left at midnight, food was a verge rolled tortilla. Plane was a 787 with nine across where the plane was designed for eight across, and to accommodate the carriers' requests for nine across Boeing took about 1 1/2" out of the seat width. Because the organizer bought the flight on line Air Tahiti Nui didnot pay miles, despite being a Star Alliance member. I flat out won't fly with Air Tahiti Nui again. It was just horrible. Air France has a 7 am flight, and that's better. Delta will provide some competition which is good. There is no way Delta could be worse than Air Tahiti Nui.

(Written on 2022/08/12)(Permalink)

Back when the DC10 was designed, I visited a couple of buildings off the airport area where they had a hundred engineers designing/drawing components. My opinion is that the DC10 was built to meet or exceed design standards that applied at that time, but there is no question that the Boeing product was better quality than the DC10. In other words, it met the standard, but could have been better.

(Written on 2022/06/03)(Permalink)

Rob, the issue of modifying an existing airframe (737) versus an entirely new design was discussed decades ago --- Boeing lacked the resources to do a totally different design, so the market niche could be satisfied by stretching the 737 platform at a manageable cost. The argument seemed to make sense. Another aspect is/was the forecast of demand. Back when the Boeing 737 debate was ongoing the forecast of air travel demand was way less than the actual that we see today, so the analysis of new versus stretch an existing platform had a different view. Had the demand picture been accurate the choice of new versus stretch might have been different. In the end the accountants and capital risk always seem to rule.

(Written on 2022/04/29)(Permalink)

I'm guessing that the pilots neglected to extend the takeoff flaps, or a mechanical occurred where the leading edge flaps failed to deploy? The aircraft was lightly loaded and it appeared to reach VR but wouldn't lift so that would be a no flap situation.

(Written on 2021/10/22)(Permalink)

German Wings? Yes. What about Egypt Air out of JFK? Same suicide. What about Air France between Brazil and Paris over the Atlantic, and the pilot flying trying to get above weather and stalling three times before he hit the water? Single pilot en route is a very bad idea. Every airline has to crew its planes with five crew sets. Duty limits, sick days, vacations, bundled together requires five crew sets, so if they reduce the scarebus to two pilots (both at the seats for takeoff and landing but one en route) ill save two salaries, times five. Average salary, with benefits, US$275,000, savings of 2,750,000 for every aircraft annually. It's similar to when the airlines managed to eliminate the flight engineer on aircraft. The airlines love the concept due to the obvious savings ....... but I loathe the concept.

(Written on 2021/06/18)(Permalink)

I've read that the controlling shareholders, the Douglas family, were unwilling to bet the company on a DC10 derivative with two engines. I've read that Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas to get the freighter. It is a sad chapter for the shareholders and employees, and handed its market share to Airbus.

(Written on 2021/04/30)(Permalink)

Correction. You are thinking of the freighter. The Boeing 717 was a DC9 derivation with big engines, designed initially for Reno Air so that it could fly out of Orange County (KSNA) without busting the airport's noise monitors. The Boeing 717 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner, developed for the 100-seat market. The airliner was designed and originally marketed by McDonnell Douglas as the MD-95, a derivative of the DC-9 family. Capable of seating up to 134 passengers, the 717 has a design range of 2,060 nautical miles (3,820 km). It is powered by two Rolls-Royce BR715 turbofan engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage. The first order for the airliner was placed was placed with McDonnell Douglas in October 1995 by ValuJet Airlines (later AirTran Airways). With McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merging in 1997 prior to production, the airliner entered service in 1999 as the Boeing 717. Production of the Boeing 717 ceased in May 2006 after 156 were built. As of July 2018, 148 Boei

(Written on 2021/04/30)(Permalink)

If you look at Southwest's website, their minimum hiring requirement is 2500 TT and a thousand of that in turbine equipment. I used to build time ferrying aircraft, brokering and buying aircraft, and I built a lot of time quickly. However the subtle elephant in the room is age ...... the airline wants to get at least 20 years out of a pilot so when you reach 35 you are pretty much done with a major. You need to get your ATP so you need 1500 TT as a minimum. Hire on with Atlas, Polar, Caletta and build jet time, or fly corporate.

(Written on 2021/04/09)(Permalink)