Couldnt find anything inflammatory about 747FOCAL's original post...why the hostile reaction?
I wish Airbus the best of luck...I dont like their aircraft but they are innovative and pushing the envelope in design and experimentation and thats gutsy and deserves praise.
Personally I wouldnt want to travel with 800 other people..thats twice the boarding time of a 744 and what if theres a no-show and his bag is buried in the bowels of the aft cargo..or if the flight is delayed and angry passengers demand disembarcation and then you've got to do the whole damn thing again..logistically it will prove a nightmare and very few airports will cope..the quality of staff coordinating the boarding procedure will have to be good and when was the last time you saw that?Most are distinctly average and boarding on a plane the size of a 767 can sometimes go wrong and prove laborious and downright painful...
Aesthetically,the plane is not a success...the lines just arent right on the thing...its profile is not too bad but front on its plain ugly...is that important?Probably not.The cabin will be to a good standard if their previous aircraft are anything to go by,but will pale in comparison to the luxury of the 7E7...Boeing,having built the "perfect" plane in terms of flightdeck ergonomics(the 777 or 744 take your pick),will now turn their attention to the cabin in the 7E7 and make up for lost ground..
as for certification,Airbus will get their 550 rating no problem...theres too many EU subsidies in it for that not to happen...if they get the JAR cert for more that will only prove that economics speaks louder than safety in aviation...something which we all know I guess.