Hi Brian! Thanks for welcoming me 😀
Do you work in maintenance/engineering? That is a very interesting point of view that is always worth listening to!
I have seen the pictures of the MAX flight deck and it does have a newer look compared to the NG, however it is still a 737 so I suppose it will retain much of the older systems. If I joined Norwegian I might end up on that fleet as they are planning to deploy the MAX in Malaga/LEMG which is where ideally I would like to be based but, honestly, I'd rather go to the NG as I don't want to be doing long haul flights on a narrow body aircraft.
There is one particular feature I don't like about the Boeing, the size of the flight deck. It feels crammed compared to the Airbus. And of course the tray table! I would miss that a lot if I changed fleets.
The truth is that I am attracted to a more conventional, hands on type of flying. The A320 is a marvel, yes, at the expense of making me feel I am flying a huge Iphone with its own "character".
In my view, too many computers and a philosophy I don't agree with. Apparently the 737 requires a deeper understanding of the plane prior to fly in on the line unlike the Airbus where all SOP's pretty much rely on following the ECAM instructions and you get to fly it with a much shallower starting knowledge. I am missing the learning factor, the joy of knowing your plane inside out but as a Training Captain friend of mine working for Vueling said: "don't try to understand the plane, I have been flying it for over 10 years and I still don't fully get it".
I don't mind working more having to make necessary imputs to manage the systems as it would eventually make me feel I am actually flying the aircraft as opposed to the Airbus where it does it all itself until a failure arises and then you end up with a different bird. It is like flying a plane with "personality issues" 😂
I can't help being a nostalgic of classic airplanes and this is the closest I can realistically be. Let's not forget that in the end, airline flying is not very exciting, at least to me, so I'd rather find parallel motivations and rewards.
We'll see what happens next. I still need to go to Oslo for the interviews and sim check so time will tell.
Thanks again for your words Brian. 😀
Regards
Francisco