Boeing has for some time been on the back foot in terms of aircraft design, they have not turned out anything new for ages, the 777, 747 QRX, 737NG are fairly old designs.
Friends of mine who were design engineers with Boeing have commented that Boeing have lost large numbers of their good engineers, and have pointed out their inability to make simple modifications is becoming a joke, like crew rests.
It literally takes thousands of people to get a new aircraft certified these days, and you cannot teach engineering experience at college.
Boeing has learnt lots from Airbus, they now use the same software that Airbus uses to design their aircraft (CATIA was used for the 777). Unlike Airbus, Boeing has not been investing in the future, but resting on past achievements. Boeing also has been applying Airbus technology to their products, the 737NGs employ a more optimised wing, however its still 4% less efficient than the older A320 wing, and has higher V speeds than the 737OG which was 15% less efficient than the A320.
It is interesting to note that Boeing manufactures A320 wing boxes, and the A330/A340 landing gear doors for Airbus.
I made several comments when the sonic cruiser was announced to the effect that it will not be built, its not a feasible engineering project, they have done no headworks on the ground to build the aircraft in, its just a marketing ploy, anyone in Seattle knows it was from day one.
The A380 is a feasible engineering project, the current debate in this thread is about escape slides, its and engineering challenge that has been met, just put enough holes in the tube to get the 52 t of passengers out in 90 seconds. The first centre wing box is complete, the manufacturing/assembly facility is looking good.
Whilst its great to see all the history around Boeing Field and the other plants in Washington state, seems most of the future is taking off from LFBO.
Time will only tell to see if Boeing has lost too much of its intellectual capital to get another new design out the door, the automotive industry just pays a lot better these days in the US.
In my view these comments were nothing short of a buy American call for the 747X stretch 504 pax against the European A380 555 pax, and to take some of the aviation press of Airbus which passed more milestones on the way to getting the A380 airborne.