QF 767-300ER Retirement Plan

[Tom Cleary]

But why did they take OGI over OGV? Is that still at Victorville? It's much more practical to use a 15 year old aircraft rather than a 26 year old aircraft.

[Peter S.]

Originally Posted by Tom Cleary

But why did they take OGI over OGV? Is that still at Victorville? It's much more practical to use a 15 year old aircraft rather than a 26 year old aircraft.

OGV had a mid galley [as did OGD/E/F] and was originally for domestic operations. It was an orphan in the fleet [and became part of the smaller Cairns Australian Airlines fleet] and I believe that it was not converted to the standard layout.

If this was the case, Westjet would have taken the four common interiors to work with, rather than 3 of one type and a fourth which required a variance.

For safety training, with a mid galley, it had fire extinguisher and oxygen cylinders located in proximity to the galley along with other differences, thus becoming a variation in examinations for cabin crew.

Additionally, for galley loading, the caterers had to know that it was scheduled for setting up their trucks to deliver carts to galleys using forward and aft doors. This mid galley was not at a door and required carts to be pushed from the forward doors down the aisle to the galley, whereas most galleys have door access [the former BA 763s with mid galleys had doors 2 for access].

[James S.]

Originally Posted by Tom Cleary

It's much more practical to use a 15 year old aircraft rather than a 26 year old aircraft.

On what basis mate?

What if the newer aircraft is up for a D check? And the older one has just had one recently completed? There is a lot more that goes into an aircraft purchase than it's age.