It was rumoured that a US major airline CEO was interested in some of United's 744s, if the price went from about 60 down to about $40 million, which causes me to wonder...
I'm sure that he could also find a good deal on buckets of red paint. Don't forget the fashionable "submarine gray", so that they can be hidden from IL-18 "Coot" patrol planes, or Nimrods, whenever these "whales" surface in the Atlantik, or Pacifik: "Ship ahoy, Comrade Lieutenant!"...[The US Navy might make a large profit on this transaction-heck, they use S-3 Vikings to look for drugs: these planes could be subsidized with logos for Texaco, Wal-Mart's day-glow designer underwear, or McDonalds' Glistening Earthworm-Burgers ("avec frommage et pommes frites, s'il vouz plait") on the fuselage...]
And just why does an airline need each cockpit configuration to be 100% standard? If an airline ends up with one fleet having only two layoouts, with differences consisting ONLY of relatively minor things, i.e. position light switches, altitude hold buttons, rotating beacons, coffee holders, what is the big deal? If you can get a batch of planes, even with different galleys, whose service is spread out over an 8-hour flight to AMS, or an awful 14-hours to Narita or nonstop to the New Chang Ying Restaurant, is it really so important to delay the introduction to line flying? Just tell the flight attendants (nothing personal, 'Wagon Dragon') to get "uuused to it". "Hold them by the ears", if necessary, said Ole after he returned from his frozen honeymoon with Lina...
The FAA allowed Connie Kalitta's DC-8s to operate in several cockpit layouts with various engines, which were reportedly interesting combinations.
Last edited by Ignition Override; 17th Nov 2002 at 05:11.