Boeing Announces 747-8

[VH-Cheer Up]

So what does all this mean? Shape of the Future (http://747.newairplane.com/)

Looks very nice - and you know what they say about if it looks right, it's likely to fly right...

Is Boeing just trying to spoil Airbus' party?

Or is it just a death rattle from a bloated, worn-out company devoid of ideas?

Discuss....

[gaunty]

Very cool looking piece of gear, gets my vote.

It's going to be fascinating watching how the A380 pans out, I'm not confident that the pax are going to like it much at all.

In my business if you lose sight of human scale you lose the game.

[Chimbu chuckles]

In general terms Boeing's aircraft have a reputation of doing at least what they claim to be able to do...Airbus seem to fall short of claimed performance by some margin as often as not.

Speak to engineers who work on both and they all seem to suggest that airbus are built down to a price and get expensive to operate relatively quicker than Boeings.

The 747-8 seems to me to be the right size...carries lots of people cheaper than the 380 but without dramatically increased infrastructure costs...born by the pax eventually in increased user charges as airport authorities claw back that increased cost....and not just the pax travelling on the 380 but ALL pax, airport users.

A380 seems to me to big...but that is subjective and I am sure beancounters will dissagree given the opportunity to put lots more pax behind the same number of pilots...doesn't make it right though.

I think in the 787,777 and 748 Boeing have a group of aircraft that are going to really give Airbus a race for market share.

Anecdotally at least Boeing build better aeroplanes...stronger and more user friendly from a pilots perspective...recently spoke to a ex Boeing, current airbus pilot...his view was Airbus are very clever but when things go wrong he'd rather be in a Boeing because the user interface is more intuitive.

In the end competition breeds a better product.

If it aint Boeing I'm not going:ok:

[Capn Bloggs]

Patched up dinosaur...

"exceptional space of the 747..." keh?

"contemporary architecture of the 777..." keh?

If it's a Boeing, I'm not going!

[VH-Cheer Up]

Yes, it looks nice, and the 747 has always been a nice aircraft to fly on, IMO.

I guess we're all going to pay for the increased airport infrastructure whether we use it in a 380 or something else. I suppose the airports will still be charging user fees based on MTOW and pax heads.

Vive le difference!

VHCU

[DeBurcs]

Agreed.

Amazing how some walllahs think they need to design an aircraft from the ground up to have another good machine.

The 747-8 has new wings, new engines, new cockpit, commonality features and new cabin features... it's a new aircraft.

AND as pointed out, it will probably live up to Boeings reputation for aircraft which exceed initial predictions of efficiency, eg the 777-300ER and 200LR.

And when cheaper than the A380, it's pretty obvious what impact it'll have on the frogs' order books.


Yes it's true, the 747-8 will NOT have a table for the pilots to eat frogs legs off. Boohoo. :ok:

[Capn Bloggs]

eat frogs legs
If Jetstar's flying them, I hardly think that'll be on the cards! :{

[FlexibleResponse]

I could be wrong but it looks like just another 747 with a flashy blue paint job and a so-called "enhanced wing".

I guess at least it is a little more believeable than a sonic cruiser.

One is tempted to observe that "Apart from Airbus capturing a majority share of the airliner market, Boeing has them beat pants-down"!

[DirtyPierre]

Is it just me, or do others think the A380 is an ugly aircraft. It reminds me of the aircraft that airbus use to transport bits and pieces except with windows. A double decker A340 (bus).

Whereas the 747-8 looks far easier on the eye.

[VH-Cheer Up]

Of course the A380 is ugly! It has the aerodynamic appearance of a garden shed!

It's a flying forehead, an airborne FJ Holden, an aviation version of the immigrant's friend, Philip Ruddock!

And it was designed by the people who brought you the Pompidou Centre, that masterpiece of inside-out architecture.

Whereas the Boeing looks like a bird. A creature that flies, probably a good thing to use as a model, hey?

VHCU

[peuce]

I think someon'e having a lend of us!!!

[gaunty]

JetA_OK :ok:

Nah not a Boing site, but ya gotta agree it does have a sexier looking wing and body and doesn't look like one of them blow up plastic toy models.

Now if Douglas, Convair, BAe, Dassault, Sud and Fokker were still around with Boing, one could only wonder what we'd be looking at now.

I think I know, it wouldn't be the advanced types we see now.

They would all be locked in the same race to the bottom as we have seen in Oz, trying to make money out of a market that can't support more than one maybe two manufacturers in a way that keeps going forward.

[J430]

Might not be a Boeing site but this is...

http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2005/q4/nr_051114h.html

Cheers

J:ok:

[Seco]

The A380 is derived from the North Queensland Barramundi

[mattyj]

Its just a 747..with 787 engines??

Who decided a 747 is good looking anyway?
The 747 and the A380 both look like beached whales..

..now the 777 on the other hand..mmmmm

[DeBurcs]

The 777 looks like every other recent twin-jet airliner. A winged tube with two donks and a fin.

The only decent-looking new product might've been the Bacardi Cruiser or wtf they were going to call it. But it was only a diversionary piece of Tech Drawing designed to divert attention from Airbus until they could get something else up and running.

[NAMPS]

The A380 is derived from the North Queensland Barramundi

I always thought it was derived from a dugong...

[MarkD]

Strange how the usual suspects who were so vocal about the A350 are not out bemoaning the "warmed over 744"...

[Capt. On Heat]

Boeing-Smarter. (No really think about their line up now.)

Airbus........well, I'd rather fly and/or passenger in a Cherokee 6 (260hp version at that!)

[DeBurcs]

Pretty obvious really.

It was the same when the A380 was at the concept and design stages. They hammed it up with groovy artists' concepts of the product and wowwed the punters who all thought, "I'd fly on an airline with a modern-looking jet like that."

...and airline execs sign up to buy them.

The reality is that there are NO bowling alleys, gymnasiums, lap-pools, revolving restaurants, etc, etc on the A380s and the slick look that Boeing spoke of is now a lot more conventional.

[4SPOOLED]

i know what i would rather be flying, and it is not something that looks like our native folk hunt up north for traditional purposes in 12'6 dingys, 50hp motors and double barell shot guns, when they are supposed to use dugouts and speers.....

[Howard Hughes]

The reality is that there are NO bowling alleys, gymnasiums, lap-pools, revolving restaurants, etc, etc on the A380s
You mean all that holding I did when Melbourne was reduced to one runway, was for NOTHING? NO bowling? NO gym? NO lap pool? NO disco?

Guess it'll be just like every other plane then, only with longer delays when boarding and longer delays at Customs/Immigration!!

Guess it'll be Rye for holidays next year then!!;)