All true but I think the point being made is the need for / economic viability of extreme range. Ultra long range aircraft such as the 787-8/9, 772LR and A345 clearly have to offer an increased level of comfort to get people to stay in the a/c for that length of time: which reduces the number of seats: which means that all the costs of an 8,500nm sector have to be amortised over a relatively small number of seats: which pushes up the required fare: which, thus far, it seems not many pax are prepared to pay. I read somewhere that SQ attempted to charge a premium for SIN - LAX and NYC but couldn't sustain it. It seems there's a point where the combination of extreme range and capacity results in seat sector costs which are unviable. The sales performance of the 772LR and A345 seem to bear this out. I'm sure that the 787's technology will still help but I doubt to the extent that will generate many new ultra long haul point to points. However, I suspect that the same technology will ensure it wipes the floor with the competition on more typical 5,000 - 7,000 nm sectors.
