this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2024
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Multiple airlines in the US already have majority Airbus fleets. It’s not quite as hard to avoid as you might think
Delta is primarily an Airbus fleet. They do not currently fly any 737 MAX planes, though they have ordered 100 Max 10s for delivery starting in 2025.
I'll assume they're being pressured into it by the significant fuel savings the max offers over their current fleet.
Or, if are willing to fly any of the big 3's regional brands it'll be on a regional jet which Boeing doesn't make. Generally those are made by Bombardier or less commonly Embraer. Though, bigger plane means smoother flight.
Perhaps to replace existing 737s. But the Airbus A320neo has similar fuel efficiency with high bypass turbofans.
The A320neo and the Boeing 737 Max use larger turbofans for increasingly higher efficiency gains. These larger engines would be scraping on the ground with the original 737 design, which is why the engines had to be mounted further forward and higher on the wings. This is what changes the flight characteristics, leading Boeing to develop the MCAS system to make the plane fly like the older 737s, which famously led to two crashed planes when it malfunctioned.
The Airbus A320neo did not run into this problem because the landing gear for the A320 are longer and it sits much higher off the ground, so throwing on the larger turbofans still left them with plenty of ground clearance.
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