A nice article- in best media style of style first facts often second but it makes a poignant statement that sadly the mighty 74 is slipping past its sell by date. I first flew one in 1971-BA (BOAC Version ) 501 LHR to JFK and most recently a 400 in April SIN_LHR still an amazing distance non stop.
However the points about Europe made me think, since while Concorde was last but wonderful hurrah from the Brabazon era I think the writer is way off target on many issues
European Governments don't give their citizens what they want? Well bad our Polis are we dont have ones that have their brothers rig the election and have IQs in double digits. We also don't consign our poor and racial minorites to quite the degree of desperation and depravity that exists in the land of the free. We also have intersting concepts like trains and social responsibility.
Getting back to aircraft the writer says Airbus products are unexceptional to passengers- sadly for Boeing that is not so. From where I sit on the plane seat the 320 series scores every time and in all aspects of pax comfort over its boeing equivalents-the 330 is miles better than a 76 and the 340 is at least the equal of the 777
That view that somehow Airbus has cheated Boeing and America out of its right to dominate civil aviation is to me a bit scary. The US has never liked or welcomed foreign competition and Airbus is perhaps the first big coordinated example of what a big pan -european company with its more advanced concepts and sophisticated design skills could do to a whole range of US insustrial output-running a little scared perhaps? PB