fear_not:
I dont think so, that he is correct with his pressumption. Airbus still has the ability to increase the capacity of the a380 while Boing has allready reached its limits with the 747.
The following
article says that the proposed 747 Advanced will grow 5 meters longer than the 747-400.
Boeing looked into a very large airplane (VLA) in the days leading up to the A-380. In fact, there were very short lived talks with Airbus about partnering in building a VLA. It didn't think the size of the market would sustain both players. And of course it had a lot less motivation to build an airplane that would kill the 747.
I think Airbus is quite bold going forth with the A380. It certainly can be a runaway hit like the 747 is/was, but it can also push the company to the edge of extinction, just like the 747 did to Boeing in the early 70s. But nothing ventured, nothing gained!
reverserunlocked:
On aesthetics give me a 747 anyday.....
I guess I agree for now, but I imagine it will grow on us. The head-on view is not really its best, it accenuates the puffy forehead and jowls, and makes the nose look like a snout. I\'m doing my best to avoid name calling, though
On the article itself:
Sutter\'s technical points seem to be:
- The upper dek is too high to evacute safely
- The wing will interfere with the upper deck slides
- Having two decks makes the cargo hold too small
- The A380 is too heavy
But it seems the counter-point is that UPS, FedEx and Emirates have ordered them as freighters. I think perhaps Sutter is being a \'proud father\'...
--ev--
Editted to cleanly join multiple posts