Originally Posted by Ye Olde Pilot
Let's face it the 787 Dreamliner programme began as a response to the A380 and Boeing have come unstuck. They've also been hit by a reduction in US military spending.
They skimped on the R and D and the birds are coming home to roost.
Boeing also made a fortune out of the 747/737 line and never thought Airbus
could be a real challenge.
Let's face it, you are talking out of your rear end.
The 787 and A380 are completely different aircraft for completely different markets and are constructed with completely different methods. The only similarity they share is the fact they are aircraft.
The 787 is a natural replacement for the large worldwide fleet of 767s and older A330s. Boeing have long foreseen a point to point system being gradually preferred over hub to hub. Airbus bet the bank on Hub to Hub remaining dominant and required huge fleets of A380s to make it work without the need for more slots.
Boeing has publicly stated on many occasions that they do not see a large enough market to warrant a 1 to 1 competitor to the A380 (in line with their point to point philosophy)
So far, they have been proven right.
The 747-8 could be seen as a "
reaction" to the A380. But then, the Freighter was launched and introduced first for a reason. How many A380Fs are on order?
But we digress from the topic here.
If the only reason the 787 has been grounded is over issues with the batteries, won't this be a relatively easy fix?