Originally Posted by
sheikhthecamel
Wouldn't it then make sense to consolidate that demand for seats into a larger aircraft? Say one shaped like an A380...?
As much as i feel for the stubborn urge to resuscitate the dodo, errr, sorry, the 380, i fail to understand how down to earth pilots with a pretence of having a well developed common sense still keep that urge up.
This aircraft works well when deployed on more than 85% occupancy routes, with a lot of well paying business and first customers, in sufficient numbers and with cheap fuel. Today only the latter still applies and this will stay for the near and middle future.
What the big airlines now need, is an aircraft that can economically operate mid- to long-haul routes, can remain economically viable down to 40% occupancy, has a big belly to take up huge freight loads when passengers are scarce, but when they show up in bigger numbers can still accommodate a nice chunk of them.
It’s more or less a one size fits all that makes a restart financially viable, not many desirable variations. These more specific versions, with their economical advantage on niches, will come back once the situation gets back to what it was. But that will take time.
Now put yourself into shoes of managers and not creationists and the graphs on these websites displaying the birds actually aloft start making sense.