Originally Posted by Dani
Well, let me elaborate on my posting above:
I really think that Boeing has all its advantages with the 787 at the moment. It will generate a huge cash flow which will in turn help to develop new projects. But this arcticle implies that Boeing is going so well because of the airliners success, and this is surely only one part of the story. All defense companies in the US (and elsewhere) generated remarkable profits since Mr. Bush jun. entered the office, namely Northon Grumman, and merger & acquisition happen on a big scale.
Dreamliner's technology is derived directly from the B-2, the first "plastic" aircraft. Airbus, even if they wanted to build a purely composite A350, couldn't do it because of lack of production capacitiy.
Talking about A300/330/350: It's not the fuselage that makes an aircraft fly, it's the wing! And its not the fuselage that is the same, but the fuselage diameter. Of course, both fuselages are made in the same classical way in metal and with frames and spars. Are you aware that all Boeings from 707 to 737 have the same fuselage? And that Boeing is actually still producing wings that are not super-critical!
And then again this old blabla about "A380, no success". If you have a little bit of long term memory, you all remember how the market was: Boeing subsidized their smaller aircraft with its 747 profits, because it was a pure monopoly on the market. Airbus had to enter to break it. Then Boeing said "we don't see a market for big aircraft", it's the point-to-point, not the megahub. Now they produce the 747-8. And journalists still repeat the fairy tail of the 787 as a bypass-hub concept.
Dani
Uh, I thought the B-2 was built by Northrop Grumman. Was Boeing a major subcontractor was it? And also the 717 doesn't have a 707 fuselage, but its not really a Boeing anyway.
Anywho, regarding long and thin routes versus dense routes, I think both are going to happen. There are some routes which will always be dense, such as many routes to London, New York, Sydney etc which may be able to justify jumbo aircraft. I think there is also going to be significant opening of new routes as the bilaterals start to relax. Look at how Continental are starting to use 757s to fly to all sorts of places around Europe now. I can only see this kind of thing continuing. So rather than being one or the other, I am guessing it will be a combination.
I think Boeing has brought in the 747-8 so that the A380 is not seen as the only choice for those airlines who will soon be rolling their fleets of 744s over. It's also going to be a major winner in the cargo market, as the 747 has always been. It's not going to eat in to the 777 or 787 so it should work out fine.
My 2c worth anyway.