With L/N 1500 due to roll out next month, doe anyone know who it will be going to? It will probably not go to Emirates as they are getting L/N 1499. United is a possibility. So is Kuwait. I guess that it could also be a freighter for FedEx.

I think it's for Qatar or China Eastern Airlines

There are rumors that the plane (which as stated is UA's) will be painted in a special livery but nothing confirmed.

Hahaha I was way off

Talking of UA new 77W's, why are they so slow in taking delivery of them ? Crew training issues ?
Seems Boeing have built them quicker than UA want them.

TC957 wrote:

Talking of UA new 77W's, why are they so slow in taking delivery of them ? Crew training issues ?
Seems Boeing have built them quicker than UA want them.

It's due to Zodiac having their own problems so it has a knock-on effect on seat production so the seats are being delayed. From what I've read, some 77W's are headed for storage.

TC957 wrote:

Talking of UA new 77W's, why are they so slow in taking delivery of them ? Crew training issues ?
Seems Boeing have built them quicker than UA want them.

Problems with the production of the Polaris seats. UA is waiting for the seats to be delivered before taking delivery of the aircraft.

77H

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

I take it UA will keep their 744's a little longer than planned as a result.

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Aircraft seat market is an oligopoly. Not much choice for airlines.

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Zodiac has become such a massive conglomerate that they cannot even get a grasp on their own operation. Their customer service, production lead times, and pricing all suck. When my airline announced their cabin refurbishment plans and the seats were NOT Zodiac, I swear I had tears of joy running down my face. Yes, there will ALWAYS be something that is Zodiac onboard our aircraft, but at least a huge chunk will be going away. I hope Zodiac can start integrating and becoming one big ol' well-oiled machine for the benefit of the industry as a whole, but until that time comes I am happy my airline with a different seat manufacturer.

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Zodiac US has been having lots of issues (AA seats ect) but UA was sourcing its seats from Zodiac UK which up until now was fairly reliable.

Looks like Zodiac needs to concentrate on solving its bussines problems as they seem to be spreading.

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Improvements have been made though, the situation was much worse 2 years ago.

I recall seeing a report that Boeing is talking with auto seat manufacturers about entering the field, and another manufacturer indicated they would play if they only sold to the plane OEMs and not the airlines.

TC957 wrote:

I take it UA will keep their 744's a little longer than planned as a result.

Doubt it. They have so much slack in that fleet they could backfill the 744s with a smaller # of 77Ws.

United1 wrote:

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Zodiac US has been having lots of issues (AA seats ect) but UA was sourcing its seats from Zodiac UK which up until now was fairly reliable.
Looks like Zodiac needs to concentrate on solving its bussines problems as they seem to be spreading.

Zodiac is merging with (= being acquired by) Safran, which won't help in the near term as management will be focused on that and be distracted from their on-going issues. Whether longer term Safran makes Zodiac performance improve remains to be seen.

KarelXWB wrote:

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Improvements have been made though, the situation was much worse 2 years ago.

When you take delivery of 3 new 777 and tow them to the other end of PAE for storage I would say improvements are necessary. When repair/replacement parts have a minimum 180 day lead time, I'd say they still need work.
It's been a cluster for years and continues to be.

Is that why N2135U is parked at SEA now? It was ferried from PAE to SEA on Mar 31st.

7673mech wrote:

KarelXWB wrote:

TC957 wrote:

Jeez - Zodiac seems to have had seat production issues for years now - why are airlines still using this company given their failure to deliver ?

Improvements have been made though, the situation was much worse 2 years ago.

When you take delivery of 3 new 777 and tow them to the other end of PAE for storage I would say improvements are necessary. When repair/replacement parts have a minimum 180 day lead time, I'd say they still need work.
It's been a cluster for years and continues to be.

Does Zodiac pay UA compensation? I assume Boeing wants their final payments when their work is done, assuming the seats are buyer furnished equipment. That could get expensive; 3 77W sitting unused for weeks.