Last flight: United says farewell to the 737

Chicago Tribune ^ | October 28, 2009 | Julie Johnsson

[Cyman]

Hurrah! Without a doubt the most uncomfortable , cramped, claustrophobic POS airplane ever made. I guess I need to start booking United.

[EricT.]

Wow! United Airlines is still in business?

I haven’t flown on United for years, and haven’t missed them one iota.

[onedoug]

Remember DC? A-320 over MD-11 back.

Southwest domestically wherever possible...All 737!

[poinq]

Southwest normally flies the stretch version of the plane and still buys 737s from Boeing. United owned most of the small versions because they liked to control the number of seat on a plane thus driving up the price. Southwest had one price so they did not mind the plane going a little empty.

It wasn't long ago that United flew their last 727. Those were real dogs. United seemed to have one of everything. And now they are getting a little more careful about the number of cockpit variations they have. This is as much about pilots as any other cost maneuvers.

If you need 5 variations of crews for each of the planes you fly then you need more crews ready at any given time. Airbus standardized the cockpit so a pilot could be easily certified on more than one type of plane. It was also likely that the age of the pilots with 737 certification was another reason to get rid of that plane.

[cardinal4]

A buddy of mine escaped the -145 and was placed in the 737 class. He is corporate now. Can you transition to the Airbus? or something else?

[Robert357]

I find it interesting how "flat or international" and competitive the world has become. One of the reasons stated by some at Boeing that they moved their headquarters from Seattle to Chicago was because United Airlines was headquartered their and they would be closer to one of their better clients.

History has told us that Boeing just wanted out of Seattle to move it headquarters and management team to a place where they were not under constant pressure to help the City, help the State or help the workers. Boeing was wanting to be competitive on a world level and to do that needed to break down any management ties that would get in the way.

Now the airlines are trying to survive and are breaking down any barriers that get in the way, union/labor agreements or traditional supplier arrangements. It is not surprising. I fully expect to see Boeing, United Airlines and other companies establish headquarters outside of the USA shortly in their search for lower costs.

[A.A. Cunningham]

N331UA

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FAA REGISTRY

N-Number Inquiry Results

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N331UA is Assigned

Data Updated each Federal Working Day at Midnight

	Aircraft Description
	Serial Number	24192	Type Registration	Corporation
	Manufacturer Name	BOEING	Certificate Issue Date	06/08/2006
	Model	737-322	Status	Valid
	Type Aircraft	Fixed Wing Multi-Engine	Type Engine	Turbo-fan
	Pending Number Change	None	Dealer	No
	Date Change Authorized	None	Mode S Code	50715511
	MFR Year	1988	Fractional Owner	NO
	Registered Owner
	Name	US BANK TRUST NA TRUSTEE
	Street	225 ASYLUM ST
	City	HARTFORD	State	CONNECTICUT
	County	HARTFORD	Zip Code	06103-1516
	Country	UNITED STATES
	Airworthiness
	Engine Manufacturer	GE	Classification	Standard
	Engine Model	CFM56 SERIES	Category	Transport
			A/W Date	08/11/1988
	This is the most current Airworthiness Certificate data, however, it may not reflect the current aircraft configuration. For that information, see the aircraft record. A copy can be obtained at
	Other Owner Names
None

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Temporary Certificate

Certificate Number

T064366

Issue Date

06/08/2006

Expiration Date

07/08/2006

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Fuel Modifications

None

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Data Updated each Federal Working Day at Midnight

[Red Dog #1]

Very likely airlines are working to reduce variety of aircraft in their fleets. Different aircraft=increased maintenance/training cost and reduced flight crew scheduling flexibility.

[Erik Latranyi]

The older 737s are not very efficient compared to the A319/320/321 aircraft because the Airbus set is newer in design.

The Embraer 175/190 slot in just under the 737 in size (75 to 100 passengers), which are perfect for smaller markets.

The Embraer 145 is as bad as the Candair Regional Jets used by nearly everyone, cramped, uncomfortable and poorly designed.

Southwest is waiting for the next generation 737 with baited breath. Unfortunately, Boeing needs to get the 787 launched first.

[HamiltonJay]

I get nervous every time I find out I’m flying on any plane with MD in its name.

[ridesthemiles]

IIRC, Southwest uses 737’s almost exclusively.

Less maintenance inventory needed because of just one model of place. Able to fly into smaller airports and serve smaller markets.

I love flying Southwest. They are almost always very cheerful.

[ALPAPilot]

They transfered a lot of flights to United Express, the rest they fly with A-320’s and B-757’s. The A-320’s we have, we had long before the 737 retirement. The schedule has been cut back by about 30% since 2003.

[ALPAPilot]

I’m on the 777 and I’m senior enough to avoid furlough, but as guys get furloughed my seniority keeps decreasing.

[Hazwaste]

The Embraer 145 is as bad as the Candair Regional Jets used by nearly everyone, cramped, uncomfortable and poorly designed.

Agree completely. However, when they changed the Embraer 120 turboprops to the 145s at the regional a/p I used to fly out of, there was much rejoicing. The 120 was everything you listed, plus LOUD!

[TSgt]

I get nervous every time I find out I’m flying on any plane with MD in its name.

SAME HERE! I hate the MD-80 and MD-90 series. They are flying sewer pipes!

[China Clipper]

Cool!

I wonder how long it will take to find all those planes for sale on E-Bay?!?!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Lego launched 'em faster than Boeing did the real thing...

[IDFbunny]

I don't understand the urgency for a B737/A320 replacement. In rough terms the 787 is to be 20% more efficient than the 767 it will replace. Half of those gains come directly from the new GEnx and RR Trent engines. So billions of $$$ and 30 years of innovation will yield an airframe that is only 10% more efficient; MAYBE. By Boeings own estimate,if all the latest innovations for the 787 where applied today to a 737 replacement, the efficiency gain would be 8%; not enough to make the investment (not that they could now anyway). Both 737/320 designs are very mature and hard to improve upon so there really is no reason for SW and the other airlines to wait for something better; it's simply not coming soon.

My guess, you heard it here first, is that there may be 787 chop jobs in the more distant future. That is chop the 787 in half or 2/3s and scale the wings, engines, and empennage down. Maybe that's why the 787 series starts at -8, and -9; they already ARE the stretch jobs done first. Just my speculation.