amazing,
all i have read on this board is how boeing has lost it and airbus has beaten them. boeing cant come up with anything new. airbus is "lightyears" ahead and is setting the standards while boeing just recycles old airframes.
boeing comes up with a revolutionary new design and all you guys do is rip it apart. what do you want boeing to do? granted, this is in the very earlier stages, but all i have read is how they will never pull it off yet no one here really questions some of the dubious claims of the A380.
the other complaint is that this airplane is not a revolutionary step in aviation. how would you improve on the 757/767/A320/A330 size of aircraft? i want to hear what all of you would propose for the "next generation". this airplane, if they can make it work, will be faster, fly much farther with very comparable operating costs.
i am not trying to start a boeing vs airbus war because both are fine manufacturers. but lets point out a couple of things. it is obvious from this thread as someone earlier pointed out that nationalism has a lot to do with peoples comments. everyone was ripping the americans, but how about the europeans? boeing is damned if they do and damned if they dont in your eyes.
all i am saying is lets try to keep things in perspective. everyone loved to point out that airbus outsold boeing in 1999. yet i didnt see alot of threads here pointing out that boeing beat airbus last year. they are two major airframe manufacturers and i think we will see a 50/50 split for the forseeable future. think about it, what new design has airbus come up with in the last 15 years? the 380 is just a double decker 340. everyhing over the last 10 years has been a variant of their late 80's work. at least boeing developed an all new airliner during the 1990's that is still the most advanced airliner around. everyone loves to point out that the A330 is so much better than the 767. does anyone want to compare the 330 to the 777? i didnt think so.
sorry for the rant gents, but i think we all need to remember that america and europe are friends and both have alot to offer to the world of aviation.