WestJet Lease of Thomas Cook 757, plane age?

[lippsenator]

Hi there, i was upset to find out that WJ leased a TC 757-200 for the Alberta-Hawaii season.

Sorry if this is a dump question, but does anyone know the age of the 757-200 leased?

[unregistered]

It was manufactured in February of 1997.

[YYZSaabGuy]

Hi there, i was upset to find out that WJ leased a TC 757-200 for the Alberta-Hawaii season.

Sorry if this is a dump question, but does anyone know the age of the 757-200 leased?

Are you upset that they leased an aircraft at all, or that it was a 757-200?

[lippsenator]

I have two issues with this situation.

First, we took TC to England and I swore after that flight I would never get on another TC plane. I've never been so packed into a plane my life. I was about to go nuts on that flight, seriously. It was seriously a very very very bad flight.

Second, I just don't fly that often and so I was thrilled to see direct to Maui with WestJet’s modern 737s. If I have to get on a plane I just "feel" better with a more modern plane, that's all.

Still my choice here, I still have the option of switching to their 737 flight with a connection, but sometimes i just work myself up over nothing on these things. 14 year old 757...seems to have a lot of miles

[lippsenator]

It was manufactured in February of 1997.

Thanks. I just spoke with WJ and the production date of the plane in question, the exact plane that they have leased, was 2004.

A look on TC website indicates the average age of the 757-200 is 14 years, so maybe that is where you got that date.

thanks either way.

I can live with 2004

[unregistered]

It was manufactured in February of 1997.

Thanks. I just spoke with WJ and the production date of the plane in question, the exact plane that they have leased, was 2004.

A look on TC website indicates the average age of the 757-200 is 14 years, so maybe that is where you got that date.

thanks either way.

I can live with 2004

It was manufactured in February 1997.

There are no B757's in the Thomas Cook fleet that are that new.

[LisaS]

Production of the 757 ended on October 28, 2004, after 1,050 had been built.[1] The final aircraft was delivered to Shanghai Airlines on November 28, 2005.

[anonymity]

I think someone has been lied to, did a westjet sales superagent tell a fib. They would never do that, would they?
Serial number 28674 LN:746

Type 757-21K

First flight date 27/02/1997

Test registration
Plane age 14.7 years
http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b757-28674.htm

[amraam]

Seems kind of ironic it was one of the ones in the Jazz fleet last winter.

When is it being delivered to YYC?

amraam

[bombardierfixer]

Far be it to point this out...hrs,cycles. Really all that counts...

[mbav8r]

I don't see the irony, Jazz was never in the running for this work. The likely reason that this particular fin is not returning to Jazz, might be due to GPS. I believe this year 3 of the 6 were going to have GPS due to some of the destinations were deemed to require it. This fin may have old school FMS, just speculating here.

[WJ700]

How old are the AC 767's chugging back and forth to Hawaii? Seems they do just fine. It's an ETOPS maintenance program... I'd say you are pretty safe!

[whiteguy]

How old are the AC 767's chugging back and forth to Hawaii? Seems they do just fine. It's an ETOPS maintenance program... I'd say you are pretty safe!

The 2 new Hawaiian birds were built in 2003 and the 3rd aircraft operating the Hawaii routes was in 1991.

During this summer they would've been as old as 87/88.

How many seats is it operating with?

Is it just one aircraft or is there a back up for mechanicals? There was a nice variety of aircraft in and out of YYC last winter.

[lippsenator]

I think someone has been lied to, did a westjet sales superagent tell a fib. They would never do that, would they?
Serial number 28674 LN:746

Type 757-21K

First flight date 27/02/1997

Test registration
Plane age 14.7 years
http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b757-28674.htm

Of course they would not lie

Sorry, when i search for that plane based on the S/N you provided (Thanks) but i do not see any mention of WestJet in the Operating History.

Could you provide a link to that, i'd like to call back to westjet, i have the reps name i spoke with, and question them on it if it was a lie.

Thanks in advance.

[North Shore]

Perhaps I'm just being a little irascible, but don't waste your time, and theirs. We're a bunch of aeroplane geeks here who have the time, inclination and knowledge to look up trivia like aircraft serial numbers and dates of manufacture. Do you honestly think that some $15/hour sales superagent knows anything more than what their supervisor tells them when they ask a question that is out of the norm? Yes, you were lied to - out of ignorance, not malice. Get over it.

And, if you are worried about legroom, pony up for first class tickets. I'd be willing to bet, however, that you didn't - you bought the most expensive hotel rooms that you could afford - and those come with the cheapest seats that the tour company can get - which means that you are packed in like sardines.

As someone else has posted - it's not really about age of the airframe, it's more hours, cycles, and maintenance.

[fish4life]

That's because WestJet does not operate the flight, it is operated by Thomas Cook on behalf of WestJet. It is TC pilots, maintence etc. WJ "rents" the plane from TC for a period of time to do the Hawaii flights

[lippsenator]

Perhaps I'm just being a little irascible, but don't waste your time, and theirs. We're a bunch of aeroplane geeks here who have the time, inclination and knowledge to look up trivia like aircraft serial numbers and dates of manufacture. Do you honestly think that some $15/hour sales superagent knows anything more than what their supervisor tells them when they ask a question that is out of the norm? Yes, you were lied to - out of ignorance, not malice. Get over it.

And, if you are worried about legroom, pony up for first class tickets. I'd be willing to bet, however, that you didn't - you bought the most expensive hotel rooms that you could afford - and those come with the cheapest seats that the tour company can get - which means that you are packed in like sardines.

As someone else has posted - it's not really about age of the airframe, it's more hours, cycles, and maintenance.

You are irascible, North Shore, i will find my answers elsewhere.

[Airbrake]

When I'm in the front of any specific aircraft with Westjet. I can't tell you how old that one plane is. There is absolutely zero chance anyone you call at Westjet will know any better.
Possibly our director of flight technical, I suspect you will not get his number from here.


Good luck though in finding it. As stated before. Westjet is not listed as it has never operated it.

[Jastapilot]

More important than hours and cycles is how well maintained is the aircraft in question? I've flown 40 year old airplanes that were as mechanically sound as a brand new airplane. I've also flown a new plane that had many mechanical issues as well. So back to using logic. If you're flying to Hawaii on ANY plane, it'll have to be ETOPS certified, which just so happens to have the most strict rules regarding mechanical upkeep of any rules anywhere. Age is noth'n but a number, baybay!

[lippsenator]

Thank you Jastapilot. I appreciate your comment and it does provide be some reassurance.

[BlueSkies12]

I can't believe this has even become a discussion. People pay less and less for tickets nowadays and expect more and more. Suck it up or don't fly a low cost carrier.

[Rotten Apple #1]

I think that the representative age(s) of an air carrier's fleet is a completely sensible and proper question for a customer to ask. The question could be asked in any company specific airline forum.

[whiteguy]

This is funny.

How old were their 200s when they operated them?

And how many cycles? One or two of their 200 were ex Aloha machines. Probably some of the highest cycle machines out there.

[pushmonkey737]

I think that the representative age(s) of an air carrier's fleet is a completely sensible and proper question for a customer to ask. The question could be asked in any company specific airline forum.

Sure agree, but a fancy new interior may not be an indication of mechanical reliability. We outsourced our maintenance to a Balkan facility because our guys were tied up with 'paying' customers and boy, were we surprised during the test flight. A lot had to do with the fact that the mechanics weren't paid in months and operated a skeleton crew. So, overall, a valid question but not exactly an indicator if proper and timely maintenance is carried out. I personally would prefer to fly an older machine that had its bugs worked out rather than a "newer" one.

[Rotten Apple #1]

How far offshore did the 200's go?