Nwfltattendant From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 341 posts, RR: 4 Posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 6638 times:
I was looking through SXM photos and found this one. I thought to myself, yes, this happens to a degree at just about every airline, but not the severity I see here. Is US cutting any corner possible now ? This looks horrible. Yeah theres the normal airlines that are known for dirty planes, I dont need to mention specifics, but this looks BAD. I know that this has no bearing on flight performance, but this is obviously a sign of whats going on at US right now.
Skyway1 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 6521 times:
Looks bad.......good for a chuckle......but has no effect on the performance of the airplane. As long as the plane is in working order who cares??? When I was with Skyway they had to put speed tape on the radome of a 328Jet....did it look funny??? Yes...but the airplane flew the way it was supposed to. Right now we(C8) have a Saab flying around with duct tape on the side of the A/C. As long as the plane flies passengers from point A to point B who cares???
LTBEWR From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 12333 posts, RR: 12 Reply 2, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 6460 times:
Perhaps this is an a/c that is due for replacement, retirement or repaint soon any way. Why worry about it, so long as not affecting the safety of the a/c is the issue. I do agree it does suggest that there are getting sloppy at the edges at US problems.
L410Turbolet From Czech Republic, joined May 2004, 5394 posts, RR: 19 Reply 3, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 6431 times:
As long as the plane is in working order who cares???
I think the average passenger cares, because then why would airlines spend so much on liveries, logos, names and the whole "corporate identity and image" circus.
What question comes naturally to one's mind when you see picture like this? "If it's so bad with things I CAN see, then how much worse it's gotta be with things I CAN'T see" This of course may or may not be in fact true, but it does no good to airline's prestige and reputation and passenger's trust that's for sure.
Skyway1 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 4, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 6359 times:
L410Turbolet.....
I agree it does look bad...especially if it's something visible that the pasengers can see. But I've worked on the other side of the operation and as long as the plane is in good working order I could care less if some paint is peeling.... Many of the average pax that do notice this kind of thing are enthusiasts. Like I said we have(or did...not sure if they fixed it yet) a Saab flying with duct tape on the side. I haven't had a pax say a word about it. So I agree it may indicate some airline sloppiness....but as long as the plane is in working order I couldn't care less.
TransPac From United States of America, joined Jun 2004, 108 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 6202 times:
I think you are making a fallacious assumption by connecting the condition of this particular plane to the financial difficulties that US is facing. I'd bet most of the big carriers have at least one or two planes at any given time that have similar rough spots. The plane in the picture is probably due for maintenance soon, as LTBEWR suggested. Unless you see a good number of bashed up birds in US colors, I wouldn't jump to conclusions.
Aa757first From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 3338 posts, RR: 9 Reply 6, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 6163 times:
Kim777fan From United States of America, joined Aug 2004, 510 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 6112 times:
Yikes!! Those pictures in a rather short recent time span of multiple aircraft at multiple locations speak for themselves.
Nwfltattendant From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 341 posts, RR: 4 Reply 8, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6038 times:
A330323X From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 3039 posts, RR: 47 Reply 9, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 5886 times:
US did open a paint track a few months ago for planes in need of new paint in advance of a heavy maintenance visit. They're working on the backlog, but some planes, particularly the 767s, can't be removed from service for even a short period because they're scheduled to the max during the summer travel period.
I'm the expert on here on two things, neither of which I care about much anymore.
StevenUhl777 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 5864 times:
With all due respect, who cares?
Certainly not the average passenger, that's for sure. What DO they care about? Only one thing...the price tag on their ticket. If the paint job is really obvious, then it might be a 2 minute conversation at the gate while waiting to board, but that's where it ends. As long as Joe passenger gets the lowest price, he's happy.
When I flew SEA-IAD a little over a month ago, I noticed on that 757 that the paint on the tail cone looked exactly like this...and I'll bet I was the ONLY person on that plane to have noticed it.
KBUF737 From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 779 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 5838 times:
Didn't US have a problem with paint? I read a while back that it was chipping and cracking quite easily and as a result they converted some of the airplanes to the .com livery. I believe it had to do with switching from clearcoat to paint, and the paint had trouble sticking. This also led to a problem with lap joints cracking as well was there not?
9844 From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 199 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 5820 times:
You all over looked the obvious. A leaking rudder PCU would cause the paint to peel in this location. That would scare me.
N670UW From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 1595 posts, RR: 8 Reply 13, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 5800 times:
I read a while back that it was chipping and cracking quite easily and as a result they converted some of the airplanes to the .com livery
Not quite. The two aircraft in the usairways.com livery (Acft 350 and 573) were damaged by a paint vendor in New Iberia, LA, who used razor blades to remove paint. The two aircraft had to be stripped of their paint and are frequently monitored for structural integrity.
N628AU From United States of America, joined Oct 2000, 324 posts, RR: 2 Reply 14, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 5619 times:
9844 said:
You all over looked the obvious. A leaking rudder PCU would cause the paint to peel in this location. That would scare me.
N628AU responds:
You forgot something even more obvious: APU exhaust.
Note the pics above. Nearly every aircraft was factory delivered in the bare metal livery of USAir. These non-factory paint jobs were done horribly by an outside vendor (probably a penny wise pound foolish MBA awarded the deal). The 757 is plauged by chipping paint in this area due the heat of the APU exhaust peeling it away. Note many types with the APU exhaust in that area (ERJ 145 and CRJ 700 for example), have stainless non painted attachments at the exhaust point.
COEWR2587 From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 603 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 5593 times:
Ramerinianair From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1486 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 5539 times:
KBUF,
it makes sence! The only paint that is chipping off is the blue paint-the part that used to be polished.
SR
IL76 From Netherlands, joined Jan 2004, 2235 posts, RR: 51 Reply 17, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 5483 times:
I think US Airways made a mistake going to a black livery. It's very sensitive to heating up enormously under sunlight. The body panels expand (when the plane is on the ground) and shrink (in the air). I know that all planes have this regardless of their colour, but perhaps the black paint increases the speed of shrinking and expanding causing the paint to crack. Nothing wrong with the airplane though. I've seen this only on US Airways. Does anyone know any other airline with a black(-ish) livery to compare maybe?
A330323X From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 3039 posts, RR: 47 Reply 18, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 5373 times:
These non-factory paint jobs were done horribly by an outside vendor (probably a penny wise pound foolish MBA awarded the deal).
There's actually a perfectly good reason why US shut down its paint tracks (around 1993 IIRC) and outsourced the aircraft painting. The EPA significantly tightened regulations and made the US paint facilities obsolete. The investment necessary to bring them up to standard was far too much to be worth it.
I'm the expert on here on two things, neither of which I care about much anymore.
Aacun From Mexico, joined Jan 2004, 432 posts, RR: 2 Reply 19, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 5331 times:
While were in the subject. This morning taking off from MIA I say a US 737 which had the black tail but the body of the plane was polished. Is this a test of some sort, or just a plane waiting for its full colors?
A330323X From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 3039 posts, RR: 47 Reply 20, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 5307 times:
While were in the subject. This morning taking off from MIA I say a US 737 which had the black tail but the body of the plane was polished. Is this a test of some sort, or just a plane waiting for its full colors?
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 21, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 5043 times:
I think passengers do care a bit. If you are in the boarding area and parked by your jetway is a grubby Delta 727 with paint peeling from round the windscreen and the nosecone, it doesn't look that promising. And if when you board, the paint from around the doorframe and round the windows is peeling too, OK its not a major maintenance alert, but you do think, hmmmmm - how well are they looking after this poor old plane ?
Potomac From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 713 posts, RR: 0 Reply 22, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 5004 times:
yes, it would be nice if it and others were repainted where and when needed. but with utilization rates and other factors, it makes sense why you might be seeing this.
of course, if there was an article about US taking the time and money to do a significant repainting of their fleet to address issues like these, i'm sure nobody on this forum would question their actions or make any comments about the appropriateness of such decisions given US' financial state.
KBUF737 From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 779 posts, RR: 4 Reply 24, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day ago) and read 4676 times:
Is it black or just a deep deep navy?
The tower? Rapunzel!!!!!!
25 PHLBOS: Is it black or just a deep deep navy? I believe that it's supposed to be a deep dark navy livery. Back when US had their silver livery, they were brag
26 MD11Engineer: The paint damage points to a leaking rudder PCU in the past (though I can´t make out any currnt leakage on the picture), Skydrol hydraulic fluid has
27 An-225: I personally prefer dark liveries. They look much classier. As for the chipping paint at the APU region - that is caused by the APU exhaust. That's wh
28 MD11Engineer: AN-225, I just stated that the damaged area is not even near the APU exhaust pipe, but instead right beneath the rudder PCUs (I´ve changed rudder PCU
29 757drvr: With all due respect, who cares? While most of us know that it really doesn't reflect the overall airworthiness, some passengers might think otherwise
30 AEroc: HI All, Just got back in from flying and on final app in ROC noticed a Dash-8 in the holding bay either departing for PHL or LGA which are both on gro
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