new type of airliner!

Timbuff10

Well-Known Member
Frontier Airlines is the first airline in the WORLD to fly the A-318. It made its first flight last week and yesterday we got the second A-318 that is currently flying. Click on the links to check out the two newest planes. It was pretty cool to be able to take these shots of a brand new airplane and then go check it out for myself!

N801FR

N802FR

The quick scoop on these guys: Take an A319, same exact range, same wings, fuselage width, make it a few feet shorter so it carries 114 pax instead of 132. Then make the vertical stabilizer about a foot taller so the aircraft is more stable and you have a new aircraft pretty much (im sure it was harder than that for Airbus). It works well in our system because now we can send an A318 from DEN to LGA that is fully loaded instead of an A319 that has 20 empty seats. This saves alot of money and creates profit. Basically it is replacing 737-200s that dont quite have the range to operate long, low density flights.

Oh yeah, Frontier also announced that it would be ordering another 20-40 airplanes from the A320 family between 2004-2008. I can only hope I get to fly them!

Tim
 
I'l go ahead and correct myself before someone else does... I guess its not technically a new "type" as the pilots flying any A32X series aircraft can fly the other A318/19/20/21 with a differences training class. Sorta like Doug's MD88/90 i guess.
 
Looks like some great airplanes Tim! Enjoy the new plane/car smell while it's there. I'd love to be in the pilot seat of one of those busses too, but I still have at least 3,000 hours of timebuilding to do first...
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Americans need to come up with a better airplane, 737 is not the answer. And surprisingly enough, there are a ton of parts on that thing made in america. Just assembled in hamburg.

originally frontier wanted to buy 737-700 and 800s but boeing was charging about $10-$15 million more than airbus at the time (this was before 9/11). Plus airbus offered other incentives with each plane. Why pay more for a smaller less fuel efficient aircraft?

After 9/11 when boeing sales went way down they came back and matched the airbus deal but by that time we were already committed to airbus. Boeing played hardball and lost.

Would have been nice to have an american made plane, but sometimes things just dont work out.

Tim
 
I kind of doubt that there's much difference in performance between the newer 737s and A320s to matter that much. Between older 737s and A320s? No contest, but that's because the average 737-300 is at least 15 years old. I'm willing to bet Frontier's decision to go with Airbus planes was determined by price more than anything else.

Overall though, I can't say I have much preference for one or the other. If someone offers me a job flying either a 737 or A320, I'll gladly fly either one.
 
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Next time, buy American.
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Tell that to 99% of American CEO's that move their companies off shore to avoid paying American taxes. Then also decide to move the plant in another country and pay southeast asians pennies on the dollar for it, while at the same time taking away thousands of jobs here at home. Yah, BUY AMERICAN! Because the guy making the product really cares about you and your pathetic patriotism that goes flying out the door when it comes to money.
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i dont mean to open a can of worms here but i've heard on a couple of occasions that Airbuses are built to last like the Boeings.
 
I'm not positive on this but I think Airbus can often undercut Boeing's prices due to some fairly heavy European government subsides of the company. Not to say Boeing has never been the benificator of any US pork...
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Wow, great photos Timbuff, as always.

Though I am curious about your statement " It works well in our system because now we can send an A318 from DEN to LGA that is fully loaded instead of an A319 that has 20 empty seats."

Huh? It isn't likely that much cheaper to fly 114 people on a full A318 than it is to fly 114 people on a 20-seat-empty A319, is it? Doesn't the A318 weigh darn near the same as the A319? And if it is lighter.. does it really have the 15% better economics to justify the 15% fewer seats? Just curious.
 
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I'm not positive on this but I think Airbus can often undercut Boeing's prices due to some fairly heavy European government subsides of the company. Not to say Boeing has never been the benificator of any US pork...
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Absolutely true. Boeing is a publicly traded company that needs to make a profit. Airbus? They're a job program for Europe first so they don't have to worry about profits. There was a great story in the Wall Street Journal a while ago about this. Airbus offered planes for a price that was pretty much guaranteed to lose them money.
 
What is it with Europeans and gov't money? First the Concorde and now Airbus.
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We got a new 737-700 about a month ago, and we were the first station it flew out of. They ferried it in the night before, so I got the full effect of the new paint smell! It was nice to see the cargo bins before the get all beat up and scratched.....
 
I dont have the #ers but i have seen them and the gist of it is this.

the 318 saves a slight amount of fuel over running a 319 on each flight. when you figure it runs to about 4 cities a day thats 8 trips a day times 365 days in a year equals almost 3000 flights a year. when you start adding that up over time it can get to be a lot of money when you consider fuel prices and so on.

If nothing else, Frontier Airlines got a ton of press for being the first airline to operate this aircraft, plus it was a centerpiece of the Paris Airshow. Cant be a bad thing when the whole world sees your airplane.

Its totally a niche aircraft but if used right it can save some $$$
 
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