We've had flying houses for a lot longer than that.
Posted on 01/18/2005 7:45:22 AM PST by Happy2BMe
Airbus unveiled the world's biggest passenger jet in a glitzy ceremony in which the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Spain hailed Europe's victory over the United States as the new king of the commercial skies.
The huge A380 superjumbo, which can carry up to 840 people on its two full decks, supersedes the ageing 747 by US rival Boeing as the biggest civilian aircraft ever made.
When it is put into service early next year, it will become the flagship of many airline fleets and offer unprecedented amenities on long-haul services, including, in some cases, gyms, bedrooms and bars.
For the countries which backed the 10.7-billion-euro (14-billion-dollar) development cost, the plane stood as a prominent symbol of European cooperation.
"Good old Europe has made this possible," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told a packed hall in Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse, southwest France.
That was a barely-veiled barb recalling the US dismissal of France, Germany and other EU states in 2003 as "Old Europe" because of their opposition to the war on Iraq.
Noel Forgeard, the French head of Airbus, made similar hints in his presentation of the A380 during a spectacle featuring computer graphics, atmospheric theme music and swirling colours.
"The European states -- so easily accused of weakness -- backed this fantastic challenge 35 years ago and have believed in the A380," he said.
The hubris on display was reinforced by recent figures showing that, for the second year running, Airbus has outsold Boeing and now holds some 57 percent of the world market for passenger aircraft.
The company, a majority owned subsidiary of the listed European Aerospace and Defence Company (with 20 percent in the hands of Britain's BAE Systems), forecasts that the A380 will extend that lead.
Thirteen airlines have already placed firm orders for 139 of the planes. Airbus calculates that by 2008 it will reach the break-even point of 250 A380s sold, and from that point it will turn out 35 of the aircraft per year to rising profits.
The catalogue price of the huge machine -- boasting a wingspan of 80 metres (262 feet), overall length of 73 metres (239 feet), height of 24 metres (79 feet) and maximum take-off weight of 560 tonnes -- is between 263 and 286 million dollars, though discounts are frequently applied.
French President Jacques Chirac called the project a "big success" and said: "We can, and we must, go further on this path of European construction so essential for growth and employment."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the plane was "the culmination of many years of hard work" and congratulated the workers across Europe who made it happen.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Europe was "unstoppable" when it pooled its efforts.
The plane, Zapatero said, "has turned this historic moment into a moment in which cooperation and globalisation are giving rise to more peace and justice."
The four EU leaders later lunched together, leaving industry VIPS to get close to the huge white plane sitting in its hangar.
Airline executives at the presentation were superlative in their praise, even though the A380 has yet to undergo test flights scheduled for March or April.
Richard Branson, the head of Britain's Virgin Atlantic, said his airline would pamper passengers on the six A380s ordered by including gyms, beauty parlours, bars -- and even casinos and double beds.
The last two features meant "you'll have at least two ways to get lucky on our flights," Branson joked.
The biggest buyer of the new plane is the Emirates airline, which has ordered 43. "The A380 will be the future of air travel," its chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said.
Airbus's success with the A380 is raising hackles at Boeing, which has won relatively little interest in its own new offering, a long-range mid-size plane called the 7E7 Dreamliner.
A bruising dispute over state subsidies between Boeing and Airbus is currently the subject of tense negotiations which, if they fail at the end of a three-month deadline, will blow up into a full-blown arbitration case at the World Trade Organisation.
We've had flying houses for a lot longer than that.
This might be the next technological advance equivalent to the Boeing 707 in its era...
I like to consider the 747 "well tested and proven" rather than "aging". Some of us like the idea of having four engines and a solid overdesigned airframe.
Very interesting link. Do keep us informed, pls.
I guess not then, I'm Gloucestershire (Stroud way), about 30mins from Filton on the M5. I take it you're closer to Bristol?
Post a pic of the 'Spruce Goose' why dontcha?
IMO, they seek to control the oil in the Gulf-States, no matter the humanitarian cost. France, Germany, Russia turned their eyes from the genocide in Iraq for oil deals just to name one place. (Doing the same in the Sudan I believe) Buying, selling, building, undercutting the West in exchange for weapon technology that Saddam wanted. That same deal is being struck with China despite EU embargo's. Sooooooooooooooooo.... oil/fuel is indeed da' answer, and the key to the controlling the global economic engines across the world.
"And, how do 800 passengers evacuate in an emergency."
First class goes first and the rest perish in the name of the party.
Some more links:
How Boeing screwed up ...
http://slate.msn.com/id/2092031/
Jet Lag
How Boeing blew it.
By Douglas Gantenbein
Posted Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, at 10:34 AM PT
And what could save them in commercial aviation ...
http://www.aerosite.net/bwb.htm
This revolutionary blended wing design, called BWB for short, was conceived by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation and now proposed by Boeing. Its flying-wing shape has a thick airfoil-shaped fuselage section to maximize overall efficiency by integrating the engines, wings, and the body into a single lifting surface. The BWB concept houses a wide double-deck passenger compartment that actually blends into the wing. Adjacent to the passenger section is ample room for baggage and cargo.
Preliminary analyses indicate that the BWB would outperform all conventional aircraft. It is conceived to carry 800 passengers 8,000 nautical miles at a cruise speed of approximately 560 knots. This is almost twice the passenger capacity of the Boeing 747-400 and 69% larger than the new Airbus A380! This design would reduce fuel burn and harmful emissions per passenger mile by almost a third in comparison to today's aircraft. Other potential benefits of the BWB include increased aerodynamic performance, lower operating cost and reduced community noise levels.
/W-III
Yeah but Oz is too weird for most to visit.
"And, how do 800 passengers evacuate in an emergency."
"First class goes first and the rest perish in the name of the party."
And, if Democrat; "the rest" can still continue to exercise their right to vote.
No thanks, I'll take the 'vomit comet' any day.
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Let's not forget what Saddam used to kill hundreds of thousands of Iranians with in the Iran/Iraq War, and where it came from - just to keep history in perspective.
Exactly. Imagine their disappointment.
That will happen. Its a lot cheaper to modify airports than to buy new planes. There will be some delay due to the airport issue, but its not going to be much.
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