United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s • Hacker News Board

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#191

Post by sithadmin » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:13 PM UTC

gniv wrote: post #120

arnon wrote: post #2

Mostly, this proves that the 737 MAX isn't a valid alternative to the 757. This goes against Boeing's official stance. The A321 (and the 757) is a lot more flexible, can carry more cargo, and has better performance.

Wouldn't the 787 also be a valid alternative (the smaller variants)?

757-300 and 787-8 have similar seat counts, but the latter is overkill in terms of range and somewhere in the ballpark of double the cost of an a321. Not to mention that pilots that are type certified for larger twin-aisle aircraft tend to be more senior and expensive than those that are certified for midrange single aisle aircraft.

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#192

Post by StuffedParrot » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:15 PM UTC

iguy wrote: post #108

snarf21 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We pay for this all over the place and not just in planes. Look at it in communications, entertainment, social media. Stock price is valued as more important than choice for the consumer.

And in things without a stock price, like the MTA. Isn't the second avenue subway exactly what you get when there's exactly one player in the game?

I would kill for second avenue subway in 99% of America. It only sucks in Manhattan. MTA is the worst, except it’s also the best mass transit in the country.

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#193

Post by bfrog » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:16 PM UTC

It's surprising airbus hasn't eaten more of Boeing's lunch. The A32x series planes fit the roles of the 737/757/767 seemingly, and likely don't require new certifications to fly each in the series. I think boeing has not only lost customers from the 737 max but confidence from people actually flying boeing jets as a whole. I for one look at the plane I'm flying on when buying tickets, I pay more for planes that have good to great safety records. I can't be alone in that.

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#194

Post by arnon » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:17 PM UTC

distances wrote: post #166

dbcurtis wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been thinking about how to implement that after the MAX starts flying again. Flight search interfaces don’t seem to filter on equipment. And of course, equipment gets changed at times, so you may book one aircraft and have a different one swapped in on the ramp. I wonder if after you have checked in, and the airline swaps in a MAX, if you can get credit for your ticket if you refuse to board a MAX? I would gue…

Fleets are often completely from one manufacturer. For example, easyJet is all Airbus while Ryanair is all Boeing. I can reasonably easily avoid all Ryanair flights in favour of easyJet.

For ULCC, absolutely.

Big carriers have a mix - United, American Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Korean Airlines, British Airways, etc.

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#195

Post by igravious » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:19 PM UTC

crb wrote: post #137

Fun fact: United used to be part of Boeing. The two were split in 1934 when a scandal around air mail pricing led to laws saying you couldn't both make planes and operate them commercially. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_Airlines

"you couldn't both make planes and operate them commercially."

We need a way more laws like this :)

I'll start with 3 off the top of my head.

1) You can't both make content and distribute content commercially

2) (More abstractly) You can't both make a platform and compete with sellers and resellers on that platform

3) You can't both make a mass or social media product and allow advertisers' concerns to dictate content

They're a bit sketchy but you get where I'm coming from I hope?

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#196

Post by umeshunni » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:20 PM UTC

DrScientist wrote: post #81

Looking at the bigger picture - I wonder if we are at 'peak' air travel - because: 1. Improved video conferencing quality and availability 2. potential future green initiatives - like adding tax to air fuel or frequent flyer taxes. Sure people will still want to travel, but might do less.

Unlikely. Air travel has been rising at 2-3x population growth for the last decade or more due to rising incomes in Asia: https://www.statista.com/statistics/193533/growth-of-global-...

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#197

Post by vonmoltke » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:21 PM UTC

onepointsixC wrote: post #87

swampthinker wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Military contracts

Defense contracts account for a fraction of their civilian revenues.

I assume "a small fraction" is what you meant.

According to their most recent 10-K, the Defense, Space, and Security business unit represents about 23% of Boeing's revenue and 13% of their profit. Some portion of the Global Services revenue comes from government contracts as well, though, so the true contribution is higher.

https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=12927&acc...

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#198

Post by jacobush » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:21 PM UTC

muro wrote: post #173

gumby wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

socialdemocrat didn't claim no corruption, simply not the same degree. Corruption in Europe is different, and often more subtle, than in the US (have lived and worked in both) but I do feel that over the 30 years the US has really gotten a lot worse compared to the EU countries.

Eastern EU countries would disagree.

The corruption also flourished during communism, but in different apparent form. Before communism, I don't know. (But the Habsburg empires I expect were deeply corrupt too - but the "west" was deeply corrupt too so it also gets difficult to compare.)

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#199

Post by bilbo0s » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:22 PM UTC

starfallg wrote: post #145

whatshisface wrote: post #7

America is going to pay for the cronyism that merged every airplane manufacturer into one and eliminated internal competition. If you don't have internal competition, you'll collapse in the face of external competition. There is no way to get away from Boeing without getting away from the American aerospace industry entirely, a problem that didn't exist back when McDonnell Douglas was around.

A large part of the problem with Boeing is McDonnell Douglas. After the merger, the corporate culture of McDonnell Douglas was transplanted into Boeing. Their HQ was moved from Seattle to Chicago and money was spent on buying back stock instead of long-term R&D.

Assembly facilities being moved to the south because "it's cheaper" didn't help either. Engineers and technicians are not really just cogs in a wheel where you can replace one with another and get the same results. You lose a lot in the way of "informal knowledge base" when you do that.

Re: United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s

#200

Post by rburhum » Wed, Dec 04, 2019, 6:28 PM UTC

dbcurtis wrote: post #33

rburhum wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not that. It is that regardless if the plane is "fixed" or not, many frequent travelers will refuse to fly on a 737 MAX from now on. Last year I took 73 flights. At least three of those were on a MAX. I profusely refuse to get on one of those, regardless if they are fixed or not.

I have been thinking about how to implement that after the MAX starts flying again. Flight search interfaces don’t seem to filter on equipment. And of course, equipment gets changed at times, so you may book one aircraft and have a different one swapped in on the ramp. I wonder if after you have checked in, and the airline swaps in a MAX, if you can get credit for your ticket if you refuse to board a MAX? I would gue…

It may not filter on equipment, but they do show you what kind of plane you are flying when you are buying the ticket so you can decide right then if you want to buy something else instead.