Anecdotal report: A colleague did the SYD-MEL-SYD day trip with OzJet last week and lambasted me for telling him they use old aircraft. Looked totally brand-new to him, he said, and the service was way better than his expectation and beat all his QF J-class experiences into the proverbial cocked hat.
So if the non-LAME, non-pilot segment of the flying public can't even tell the difference between an old but refurbished, non-NG 737 and a brand-spanking new 737-800, whom are we kidding?
What they CAN tell the difference about is the service, and it's ahead by miles, apparently, according to him. And he's a senior manager in the customer service game, so his judgement ought to be good.
Might give them a try next time I have to travel to Australia's second-best city. Bugger the points, a few extra centimetres elbow and hip room would beat that.
VHCU