Neal Sanders

BKW, the Embraer is in fact a twin jet aircraft. I will make the assumption -- perhaps naively so -- that those engines are made by GE, Pratt & Whitney, or Rolls Royce. The balance of the craft is made by Embraer Industries and is fabricated in Brazil. I have read several times that this particular aircraft makes considerable use of high tech glues and very lightweight materials in order to keep weights down. My sense is that the finished product is airworthy, but not of the same class as a larger Boeing-built jet. That is is more easily buffeted by weather is intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer.

"xx", the business traveler is kept mollified by frequent flyer bonuses and complimentary upgrades. Two weeks ago I was re-routed on a flight from Phoenix to Boston; ended up flying first class all the way. In my frequent flyer account, I was credited not only with the first class segments but also all of the double-mile bonuses that went with it. So, it is assumed that when American rolls out a flying roller skate like the Saab 340, we'll just grin and bear it.

The biggest issue is the "right to substitute." If an airline knows they are likely to have only 44 passengers between Philly and Boston at 4 p.m., then why roll out a 737 and crew of seven when a crew of three on a smaller craft will suffice? That's the problem: if a flight code has four digits, it's a pretty sure guess that you've been shunted off to an affiliate. Its when you board AA495, expecting an A-320 and you get the shuttle bus instead.

Orville, I grew up in a Pan Am family in a community where it seems everyone worked for one of the airlines, and I am old enough to remember that pre-jet era. Speaking of those Eastern DC-7s, one of the memories indelibly impresssed in my mind is the sight of two burned-out craft that Eastern kept parked in plain sight for several years at the northeast coner of Miami International Airport. One was a DC-7, the other a Constellation. Whether Mr. Rickenbacker kept them there as a reminder to his employees or to the flying public is lost to the ages.

seamus

Rollo, go away. You're just cluttering up this board and adding nothing. We like to hear Neal's opinions. If you don't, then go some place else to play.

Orville W.

Neal,

I was born 3 days before Roosevelt died, and my father worked for Raytheon on guidance, etc. so he was "into" aviation and aerospace stuff early on. We used to go out to Logan airport on Sundays in the 1950s to watch the transatlantic flights come and go. I still remember the sight of the frozen Eastern fuselage in Winthrop bay left there for a long time after that sad crash. Cap'n Eddie sure seemed to take some odd turns along the way.

But I still also remember the "romance" of some of those early "liners" -- like those beautiful Tri-Star Constellations ("Connies") with the curved fusellage so they looked like airborn dolphins. Do you know if there are any stored anywhere or even still flying?

And I miss the 707s for their incredible stability compared to all the modern planes with the tail-mounted engines. To me, "Pan Am" -- with the blue and white globe logo painted on a 707 still means the height of glamor in travel.

I guess I qualify for the Sentimental O.F.'s club. (And surprise, Rollo, I'm not a guy! I just "play one on TV").

freewoman

I read this thread with a good deal of amusement. Isn't it wonderful that the world is made up of people with differing opinions? I fly American Eagle every time I go from Dallas to Beaumont. I can't imagine why anyone would want to go to Beaumont unless you are from there and have family and friends there, but I do go down and if you want to fly into Beaumont, your choices are American Eagle, ASA (Delta's affiliate) or Continental Express. I always fly American Eagle and I love those Saab planes. Yes, they are loud and a little cramped, but that one hour sure beats 6 hours on the road!! I have a friend who is a pilot on the American Airlines jets. He tells me that the Eagle Saab's are some of the safest planes in the air. My take is if it gets me there faster than anything else and we land in one piece it was a good flight! Happy flying!!

Robert

Always take earplugs when flying on a commuter. It will muffle the noise considerably.

Robert

John

I grew up in a Douglas family (Pop sold rockets to NASA and Mom was the secretary to the test pilots at Clover Field) in the days of the DC-6Bs and DC-7s, the Skyrockets and X-3s. I spent my time on the line in Long Beach, too, bucking rivets and trying to help straighten out bent DC-9s after an earthquake one graveyard shift twisted all the fuselages on the assembly jigs. (There's a flying banana that they still can't trim out owned by Air Afrique somewhere in the air over Senegal. Hopefully.)

It's like with a lot of industries - it's hard to see something so glamorous and edgy turn into a commodity where customer service or any kind of service for that matter is utterly subordinated to "yield management." The dictatorship of the MBAs, again.

I blame Eastern AL (anybody else a "WHEAL?") and Western Airlines for inflicting "shuttle" service on us 35 years ago. I remember SFO to LAX at $14 per seat on old WAL Electras. We the people snapped up those seats (and the free champagne, too) and thought hey, whadda deal, not realizing that we were sealing the fate of air travel as a pleasurable, graceful experience. F27s and Banderantes and Embraers were inevitable at that point.

But I never noticed the skirts on the PSA hostesses. Not ever.

Jim Rosenberg

I agree with freewoman's take on this and also fly on SAAB 340s quite frequently. I know other people who feel differently about it, but it strikes me as a very airworthy craft that gets the job done. That's essentially all I'm looking for at the prices I'm willing to pay. Like her, I make my comparison against all of that time on the road DRIVING when I'm judging the value, as opposed to comparing it to other types of flying.

haha

Rollo, my sides ache from laughing dude! You are a witty pin in the ballons of these pompous asses. Like that metaphor? Almost as pompous as certain "purple prose" found here.

Leone

May I join in? Yes, Neal, just 2 weeks ago I "crawled" throught that Air and Space quarter fuselage (Eastern or American, I forget), and my god, did we used to fly in them? The old Connies, DC-6's (even the 3's and 4'w), the 7's (jet prop ... am I correct in thinking Electra ... nothing becomes the morning like flying in one). Grand days. Thanks for the report, and all it generated. I'm going back over tomorrow and look at the fuselage again, so I'll have a better perspective on Thursday's A-319. Ciao