rohr turbo wrote: ↑Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:54 am
More than half Southwest's fleet is 737-700 and those can't fly to Hawaii, have different capacity than newer versions, etc. So even if 737s look similar, it is not a completely interchangeable single-model fleet.
It's true they have variants with different mission capabilities, but from a facilities standpoint... every 737 they fly will fit into one of Southwest's hangars, and every 737 will fit onto the gates they lease.
rohr turbo wrote: ↑Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:54 am
I think Amtrak has already standardized pretty well and is getting good economies of scale. Western LD all bilevel. Eastern LD basically all single level. Plus corridor versions of both. I don't see a problem with consolidating to two 'shells' (single and bi level) and then having different buildouts for each (LD coach, corridor coach, sleeper, etc.)
Other than nostalgia for Superdomes and Superliners, I see no real financial benefit from having separate fleets for west of the Eastern Time Zone...
If anything, you're adding complexity (elevators) for ADA accessibility that doesn't need to be there with single level equipment.
Autotrain is the only train left today where demand exceeding capacity might be a recurring factor.
Arguably, even that could be run single level by replacing the 6 Superliner sleepers with 9 Viewliner sleepers and the 4 coaches with 6 Siemens coaches. It's adding five cars. If that's now too long to platform, drop a couple of the revenue cars and related autoracks (which seem to run 2 for every passenger car). Better yet, run a second section.
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