It Flies
rom a financial point of view, I think Airbus will do alright with the A380. So far, Airbus has booked 154 orders for the A380. Airbus expects to break even with another 100 orders. (AP,usatoday) Assuming no insurmountable problems emerge with the plane, I think Airbus will be able to sell another 100 A380s. The A380 will be popular in the fast-growing Asian market. Going to larger planes is really the only way for crowded airports to move more passengers. (Question: anyone know if there will have to be more time between takeoffs to avoid turbulence problems for the planes behind?) Some people think Boeing blundered by passing up this segment. I think Boeing should consider itself lucky that Airbus has been focusing its attention on the A380. It has given Boeing breathing space in the mid-market. In fact, some see the A380 as a strategic blunder for Airbus: QUOTE
rom a financial point of view, I think Airbus will do alright with the A380. So far, Airbus has booked 154 orders for the A380. Airbus expects to break even with another 100 orders. (AP,usatoday) Assuming no insurmountable problems emerge with the plane, I think Airbus will be able to sell another 100 A380s. The A380 will be popular in the fast-growing Asian market. Going to larger planes is really the only way for crowded airports to move more passengers. (Question: anyone know if there will have to be more time between takeoffs to avoid turbulence problems for the planes behind?) Some people think Boeing blundered by passing up this segment. I think Boeing should consider itself lucky that Airbus has been focusing its attention on the A380. It has given Boeing breathing space in the mid-market. In fact, some see the A380 as a strategic blunder for Airbus: QUOTE
(AP) ... some analysts say signs of a boom in the market for smaller wide-body planes, such as Boeing's long-range 787 "Dreamliner," show that Airbus was wrong to focus so much time and money on its superjumbo. "If the A380 costs Airbus the mid-market then it's the biggest misinvestment in aerospace history since Concorde," said Richard Aboulafia of the U.S. consultancy Teal Group. Airbus ... is also planning to bring its own mid-sized jetliner, the A350, into service in 2010 - two years after the Boeing 787.The US passenger airlines aren't buying A380s... QUOTE
(American Travel Associates, January 18, 2005) None of the financially strapped U.S. airlines has placed an order. U.S. transport companies FedEx and UPS have ordered cargo versions of the A380.I didn't realize this: QUOTE
(usatoday) Half the aircraft parts, by value, are built by American companies. About half the engines will be made by General Electric/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance. Goodrich is building the landing gear. Honeywell is making cockpit electronics and an environmental surveillance system, which integrates weather radar, traffic alert and collision avoidance and a ground-proximity warning system.I know its kinda old.