NW planning to use A330s trans-pacific

scott wrote:
How many 744s does NW have ?
IIRC, 14.
How many 742 are still in use by NW ?
A lot of them.


742 have a range of 12,700km, the 330-200 has 12,300km.
DTW-NRT is 10,296km well within the 330's range.

I suspect that operating a 330 is a hell of a lot cheaper than an old 742 and
DC-10 (fewer pilots, much less fuel burn, and probably lower airport costs).

But the 330 carries only 253 pax versus 366 for 742 (3 class configs) and I
suspect its cargo capacity is also much less than that of old 742s.

Is the current load factor on 742 such that NW can substitute 742 flights one
for one with 330s ? Or will there be a few cases where one 742 flights will be
replaced with 2 330s flights ?

If/when the airline industry picks up, it will be interesting to see if NW
handles growth by adding 744s or just buying more 330s and increasing frequencies.

Maybe to to use theA330's but not to retire the 747's.

CO did that years ago when they became to expensive to maintain. Not very fuel
efficient either. Unfortunately the 747 seems to be the status symbol aircraft
for many US and most major foreign airlines.

The oldest 747's are now in their 3rd decade or more and starting to show their
age.

Jerry in LAS

In article ,
(Jaybee727) wrote:

Maybe to to use theA330's but not to retire the 747's.

744s no, 742s yes

CO did that years ago when they became to expensive to maintain. Not very
fuel
efficient either. Unfortunately the 747 seems to be the status symbol
aircraft
for many US and most major foreign airlines.

The oldest 747's are now in their 3rd decade or more and starting to show
their
age.

Don't think man of NW's 742s are that old. Some of the 744s are the
oldest out there (NW was launch customer)