Bye, Bye E-190 & A330-300

[FWAAA]

Yeah, but the LUS fleet is being reduced.... Like it or not, that makes a difference to some...

I disagree with them. Isn't that like saying that the LAA fleet is being reduced by the retirement of all those 763s? Even though LAA ordered 787s many years ago to replace those 763s?

LUS ordered 22 A350s a long time ago and as they arrive, nine obsolete A333s will be parked (which is what I assumed about 10 years ago when the A350s were ordered).

The LUS fleet isn't shrinking by 9, it's growing by 13 (22-9=13).

It's only shrinking if you believed that LUS was going to grow its widebody fleet by 22 airplanes.

By the same token, the old LUS 762s were parked. Of course, LUS ordered new A330-200s to replace them. Did the LUS fleet "shrink" when those 762s were parked? I'd argue "no."

When AA parked 34 A300s a few years ago, that was a fleet reduction. AA didn't order any planes to replace them.

 

[nycbusdriver]

LUS ordered 22 A350s a long time ago and as they arrive, nine obsolete A333s will be parked (which is what I assumed about 10 years ago when the A350s were ordered).

The LUS fleet isn't shrinking by 9, it's growing by 13 (22-9=13).

 

 
It really comes down to looking at this parochially, or broadly.
 
There really is no "LUS" fleet anymore.  It's American Airlines' fleet.
 
The LUS pilots are concerned about the ongoing seniority integration and just how the premium, i.e. widebody, flying will be divvied up by the arbitration panel.  It's the LUS pilots who see the "shrinking of the LUS fleet" because the LAA pilots argued that "what's mine is mine" (777,787,763) and "what's yours is mine."  They expect the arbitrators should fence LUS pilots off the A350 when it arrives since those are coming into the AA fleet and were never US airframes.  That is the rub if it indeed happens.   Of course, AA pilots expect that all of the 787 deliveries will also go to LAA pilots, not at all seeing the duplicity in their argument.

 

[PHL]

The A333 order was initially placed in 1998 and the deliveries began in 2000.  By the time they are gone, they'll have flown in revenue services a solid 15-18 years.
 
They've served the fleet well, and are symbolic of LUS making a big push into more long haul international flying with premium options.  The initial 3 class configuration was way ahead of the other US airlines' offerings in many regards.