PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Boeing Mulls Stretching 777 to Knock Out Airbus A380
Old 9th Jul 2016, 11:09
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Ian W
 
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Originally Posted by bnt
I suppose that was my point - the A380 has 4 engines and much more space than even a stretched 777 will have, so the idea of those two competing is a bit weird IMHO. But then I suppose airlines are looking more at cost per passenger per mile, and all that, and two engines are cheaper than four.
It is a little more complex than that. An A380 can carry 600+ pax on a route as one flight in the day. But the demand may be for different times of day either for connections from feeder aircraft or because business travelers want to travel at different times dependent on what meetings they need to get to. So is it better to operate two 777 or even four 767 rather than one A380. This is a business decision by the airline. The bucket and spades tourists will go for the cheap and live with the time of departure/arrival. Business travelers are more likely to want specific departure times and connections. So what market is the airline trying to satisfy?
This was the initial reason for the A380 vs B787 approaches - thick routes vs thin routes. Subsequently both A and B have hedged their bets with A350 and B747/8. It is notable though that both the 380 and the 747/8 are not selling as well as expected whereas 787 and 350 are selling well.
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