Here's a silly article. I guess the author never heard of a DC-8-61/63. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/04/02/f= inancial1114EST0079.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 2, 2002 (AP) Are airlines stretching themselves too thin? SCOTT McCARTNEY, The Wall Street Journal (04-02) 08:14 PST (AP) -- Big airlines, which have long searched for ways to beat back low-fare competitors, have a new secret weapon: the extra-long airplane. Boeing Co. is expanding its product line to offer more planes with an extra-long fuselage that can seat dozens of additional passengers at about the same cost as the original models. Originally intended for charter operators, the stretch planes are finding a new niche at several major commercial carriers, and Boeing thinks more will follow suit. For airlines, the stretch plane offers a tempting formula. Faced with continued pressure toward lower fares and richer labor contracts pushing costs up, the carriers are hungry for any way to fly more seats cheaply. For not much extra cost in crew and fuel, they can move more passengers, offer them lower fares and eke out fatter profits. Stretch models lack the long range fuel capacity of their standard cousins, but are perfect for medium-range, high-volume trips, executives say. For now, airlines are testing stretch models on some of the most popular routes that have seen steep fare-cutting by discount rivals. Continental Airlines has begun flying the stretched 757-300, for example, between New York and Florida, routes where fares of $99 or less are the norm and JetBlue Airways is growing rapidly. The new plane costs about the same as the venerable 757-200 and flies with identical engines, but comes with 27 extra seats in coach. Its load of 210 passengers, more than a standard, wide-bodied twin-aisle 767 typically carries, makes it the longest single-aisle plane in the world. The stretched plane is so long -- almost 179 feet nose to tail -- that it has a built-in conveyor belt dubbed the "magic carpet" in the cargo hold to move luggage around. Previously, airplane makers thought they needed two aisles and a wide tube -- like those found in 767 and 747 models -- to carry more than 200 people. With the longer planes, "We can effectively compete against some of the low-cost carriers and take some of that traffic at a profit, which a smaller plane couldn't," says Glen W. Hauenstein, Continental's senior vice president of scheduling. But extra-long also can be extra-inconvenient for passengers. Boeing estimates the stretch planes take six minutes longer to load or unload; Continental says it typically schedules 10 extra minutes for that process. And the planes do have some hidden costs. Pilots need extra training because the long planes are more susceptible to hitting their tails on the runway. If landings aren't perfectly straight, the tail can whipsaw, possibly throwing bags out of overhead bins. What's more, the view from the back of 40 rows of passengers can be daunting. "It just seems too small for this many people. Either that or I'm getting bigger," said Debra-Jo Ryan, a Phoenicia, N.Y., beauty shop owner going to Florida for vacation. Continental flight attendants grouse that the stretch 757 is so long that it can take an hour to serve snacks and drinks to a fully loaded plane of 210 passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration requires a ratio of at least one flight attendant per 50 passengers. Continental staffs the stretch flights with two flight attendants in first class and three in coach -- one more than a similar flight in a regular 757. Still, on a recent Newark, N.J., to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., flight, passengers in the last of 40 rows waited 70 minutes after takeoff for their first drink. Extra exits aren't typically required for the stretched planes. Some improvements have been made for comfort. Legroom is typically no worse on stretched planes and Continental's 757-300's actually have an inch more legroom at each coach seat than standard 757s. The airline also adds an extra bathroom -- typically a standard addition on most stretched planes. And the new planes have seats that slide forward as they recline to limit how far back a seat travels into the next row. Rick Bauer of Wayne, N.J., returned from a Caribbean cruise aboard a Continental 757-300 and found it quiet and roomy. He was happier to be on Continental than a discount carrier. He once flew a discount carrier to Florida and says, "it was hell," with cramped seats and poor service. Continental is planning to deploy its 757-300s in other high-volume markets like Houston-Las Vegas. This summer, Northwest Airlines will take delivery of its first single-aisle 757-300 to replace wide-body DC-10s on busy routes like Minneapolis to Orlando and Los Angeles. "We think (the 757-300) is going to take off in the U.S. air system," says Randolph S. Baseler, vice president of marketing for Boeing's commercial airplane division. "It can really drive fares." Continental figures that it needs to fill just 20 percent of its extra seats to break even on a 757-300. Selling out on peak flights on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays would do it, and anything sold other days is simply gravy. So with the extra seats, the airline can vacuum up traffic at very low fares that might otherwise go to low-cost upstarts. "This is one tool," Continental's Mr. Hauenstein said. "Low unit costs a= nd low trip costs -- that's nirvana from an airplane perspective, and the stretch planes we're buying come closest." Even wide-bodied planes are getting stretched. Delta Air Lines is flying= a stretch version of the wide-bodied, twin-aisled 767 between Atlanta and Florida, routes where Airtran is plying passengers with low fares. The 767-400 is 42 feet longer than a 767-200, and carries 83 more passengers. Delta has it crammed so full of seats that its 767-400s carry 287 passengers, while Continental's version of the same plane carries only 235 passengers. Both have about the same number of first-class seats; Delta just has a more-crowded coach section. Both Continental and Alaska Airlines are flying a new stretch version of the 737 called the 737-900. It's 28 feet longer than the 737-700 that Southwest flies, and carries 52 more passengers. Alaska, which has faced fierce battles with Southwest over the years, us= es its stretch 737s on heavy traffic routes, sending them to Cancun in the winter and Anchorage in the summer, and in congested airports like Los Angeles. It costs 10 percent to 15 percent more to fly the 737-900 than a 737-700, says John MacLeod, Alaska's managing director of planning, but the stretch plane has 43 percent more seats. "If you can fill half those seats at the same average price, then the airline's operating margin is better," he says. Years back, airlines tried flooding markets with flights to beat back low-fare competitors. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines even flew spacious but fuel-hungry DC-10s between Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo., to keep passengers off Western Pacific Airlines. With stretch planes, the competition is more subtle and economical. But it still grates on low-fare start-ups. "They're just trying to go after us with capacity," says Airtran spokesman Tad Hutchison, pointing to Atlanta-based rival Delta. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP