Originally Posted by skybed
by the time the make up their minds and business has improved they once again will be short of aircraft and delay reconfiguration, again continuing with a mixed product
Time was when there was truth to that. Reconfigs were incorporated in the major maintenance line and turnrounds were measured in months. (Was in that time that a respected beancounter observed that the financial case for a reconfig could never be validated because the next reconfig was started before the previous one could reach its breakeven point)
This time may be different, and I speculate with no inside knowledge, because the A380 deliveries, in part, permit 744 disposal, and the 787 deliveries permit 767 disposal. So if you defer one 744 disposal and one 767 disposal you can create a 744 reconfig line and an A330 reconfig line, both independent of major maintenance and with, maybe 3 week turnrounds.
Pure speculation, but I like it. Of course where you find the hangar space and manpower is probably an industrial stoush away
Probably wrong. my track record, like myself, is inferior.