(19 Sep 2016, 7:40 pm)L469 YVK wrote And that is where the problem with refurbishing them 9x has been all along. Will dilute the Sapphire brand completely. 7501-09 should've ended up at Jesmomd all along.

I don't know too much about the competition between ANE and SNE that was mentioned earlier, but I think if 7501-9 were allocated to whichever routes ANE are competing with Stagecoach on, they'd do a very good job. I think they would need a touch up inside, and to be looked at mechanically first, in order to ensure a good start, which is where I think they got it wrong on the X21/22. I'm of the belief that had 7501-9 been properly examined mechanically before the Sapphire launch, we'd definitely have seen better initial reliability, and I don't think they would have anywhere near the bad reputation that they now do. 

Obviously, it's now pretty hard to go and rectify that, you can't just take them all of the road and give them a good look over now, if you intend to keep them on the X21/22, because there'd be nothing to cover for them. If, however, 9 new E400s are arriving for the X21/22, it gives Arriva the chance to properly sort them out. I imagine they would be kept as Sapphire for the transfer, so all that Jesmond would have to do is prolong the launch, keep the current stock running a month or two longer, and look at each one thoroughly. 

Until anything is confirmed, this is obviously all hypothetical, but it certainly makes a lot of sense.