Pilot Report: Flying the 737-8, Boeing’s New Narrowbody Breadwinner

[jimntx]

Interesting article from Aviation Week & Space Technology

A lot of "pilotspeak" where I had no idea what the test pilot was saying.

Interesting tidbits that explained some recent rumors--such as adding seats to the 737 cabin. Current AA 737s have 16 F/C, 144 Main Cabin seats. Seems the 737-8 will have 12 F/C and 150 Main Cabin. Doesn't seem like much of a MC increase, but considering the number of F/C seats being occupied by free upgrade Executive Platinums, I guess the math works out to more revenue even with the F/C decrease.

Another tidbit: "With such a low undercarriage and long fuselage, the -8 has a tail skid under the aft fuselage to prevent airframe damage in the event of over-rotation during takeoff or the landing flare."
I think the sound (and feel) of the tail dragging on the ground may be a little unnerving to the average passenger. Quite frankly, I'm glad I fly #1 where I'm seated right behind the cockpit for take-off and landing.😱 LOL

Now, question for those who might know. We currently refer to the 737-800 as a 738. Now we have the 737-8 coming into the family. What will we call it?

http://aviationweek.com/commercial-...ing-737-8-boeing-s-new-narrowbody-breadwinner

 

[FWAAA]

Jim, your rumour mill may be more accurate than CNN, but two weeks ago CNN said that AA's 738Max would feature 16 F seats and 156 Main Cabin for a total of 172 seats, 12 more main cabin than today's 738s.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/02/news/companies/american-airlines-legroom/

The Max is long enough to squeeze in two more rows of economy seats, with most rows at 30 inch pitch and three rows at 29 inches.