You should fly first class.
Posted on 02/24/2019 4:07:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv
It's an outcome that rival Boeing anticipated about 25 years ago when it outplayed Airbus with a brilliant bit of judo strategy (using Airbus's strength against itself), according to my 2008 book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing... As the Journal reported, in 2000, Airbus bet over $10 billion on the 555-seat A380 because it wanted to replace Boeing's 50 year old 747 jumbo jet. The A380 went over budget due to development delays and while passengers liked the plane, airlines preferred Boeing's 787 Dreamliner or Airbus's A350... This A380 denouement was envisioned by Boeing's former CEO, James McNerney... he saw that mid-sized planes in the point-to-point airline segment -- pioneered by airlines like Southwest -- would be more profitable than the long-range, hub-segment which flew passengers to big airports and let them sit for hours waiting for their connecting flights...
Boeing was considering whether to develop a "growth version" of the 747... to 500 seats from 420 seats... Boeing proposed to Airbus that the two companies conduct a joint study to assess the market potential for a replacement version of the 747. Why Airbus agreed to this joint study is not clear... In any event, at the end of the joint study, Boeing concluded that the super jumbo market would be far smaller than Airbus did. According to John Walsh, of Walsh Aviation, an aerospace consulting firm, Boeing estimated that demand for super jumbo aircraft would amount to 250 units while Airbus thought the market would total 1,000. At McNerney's urging, Boeing remained focused on market for intermediate-sized jets, which proved to be the better bet... Boeing believed that Airbus's internal conflicts would slow down its response to Boeing's success with the 787 in the mid-range market.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Put your hat back on!
The bats will lay eggs in your hair.
If I remember correctly, the 747 was originally designed as a heavy lift hauler for the Air Force in competition with the Lockheed’ C-5. Once Boeing lost the contract, they made the 747 into an airliner.
747 can open from front and back for cargo. A380 cant.
And with the cockpit sitting between the two passenger decks, the design will be impossible to modify to put a nose door in.
Its not the first time BOEING has made the eurotrash walk the plank.
“No big doors”
Thanks to both of you for the information.
[747 can open from front and back for cargo. A380 cant.]
FedEx was going to buy some and even built a hangar in Memphis for it. It didn’t work out and now Fred’s big jet is the 777. They cram one of those, an MD10 and an A300 or 767 in that hangar nowadays.
I would guess structural loading of the decks and the assumptions made about fuel consumption.
I would guess structural loading of the decks and the assumptions made about fuel consumption.
I didn’t mean to post that twice...
I always heard it was the opposite. That the impetus and inspiration was from PanAm but Boeing wanted to hedge their bets and so wisely built the 747 for cargo.
Whatever happened, if they lucked out and PanAm came to them for a plane second or first ... the engineers did the company right.
I think the best aircraft, at least for everything this side of light private aircraft, small liners like the Lear or fighter aircraft, have always been sky trucks at heart.
That would not surprise me. The way the market is now isn't the way that it once was, or is going to be in the future. Small-hauler SSTs will be flying in 10, 15, 20 years, and large, long-haul widebody will make a return as well -- it takes a while to be ready for any of it. Thanks llevrok.
If you look at a 747 its one big cargo hold front to back with and elevated flight deck and small passenger space ..that elevated upper deck .. you can just hinge the nose up and have full load access.. it is a cargo plane layout from the get go
The A380 with its double deck design with that floor right down the middle of what would be the cargo hold you’ve got no space for large cargo and no way to hinge up the nose to acess
Sounds like a fitting subject for the sequel to “You Can’t Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney’s Turnaround at Boeing”. :^)
quasi-related sidebar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsEeVOchA78
I’ve never boarded one, but have seen ‘em up close, they seem enormous. Probably a nice smooth ride, particularly compared with the old “Ruptured Duck” prop jets across Lake Michigan, flying into Grand Rapids.
You should fly first class.
During the 747's design phase, Boeing hedged its bets on its passenger potential, put the cockpit up on top [in the famous bulge], and hinged the nose on freight versions to allow front-loading.
The double deck A380 does not have that flexibility.
“During the 747’s design phase, Boeing hedged its bets on its passenger potential”
The freight capability must have made the 747 more expensive. Nevertheless they sold a bunch of them for passenger use. Impressive, huh?
The 747-8F freighter has been modestly successful, but the 747-8I Intercontinental passenger version is an unqualified flop, and like Airbus, Boeing will never recoup their development costs on the 747-8.
A Boeing exec reveals what’s in store for the 747 jumbo jet and predicts that Airbus won’t be able to deliver the rest of its A380s
Benjamin Zhang
Jul. 17, 2018, 3:30 PM
https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-exec-says-the-747-jumbo-jets-future-will-be-as-a-private-jet-2018-7
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