[Looking for Diogenes]

The FAA requires that comercial airliners in service in the USA pass an evacuation test. The entire airplane must be emptied of passengers within 90 seconds.

I know it's hard enough to believe that existing jumbo jests pass this test. I wonder how this new plane will be able to meet the standard.

[kerosene]

There are evacuation-slide-equipped doors on both decks of the A380.

The smaller airplane looks like an Airbus A319 or A320, the A319 being a shorter version of the A320. The A320 family (A318 (much shorter), A319 (short), A320 (normal), and A321 (longer)) competes with the Boeing 737 family.

This article points out that the Japanese are concerned about the weight of the 7E7, as their airport landing fees are based on airplane weight.

"Tsuchiya noted that airport-landing fees in Japan are based on weight. The base 7E7 would be more than 40 percent heavier than the Boeing 767-300. Consequently, JAL had been concerned that higher landing fees for the 7E7 as originally planned would wipe out much of the anticipated fuel-cost savings."