[GonzoGOP]

It is never good when your customer starts talking about you using the word failure.

On the other hand I don't get the A380 -vs- Dreamliner thing. The two planes don't appear to be competitors based on passenger capacity. They don't appear to be competing for the same routes. If you can fill an A380 then you shouldn't be running a Dreamliner. But if you have a Dreamliner's passengers in the seats of an A380 you are going to lose money every time the wheels come of the ground.

[John Valentine]

The Airbus competitor for the 787 is NOT the A380, it is the A350. Qatar Airways has ordered 80 of them

[Moonman62]

On the other hand I don't get the A380 -vs- Dreamliner thing.

Each aircraft is a showcase for their respective companies, even though they are for very different markets. I think when all is said and done, the 787 will be the far more successful aircraft, though both have had major development problems.

[antiRepublicrat]

On the other hand I don't get the A380 -vs- Dreamliner thing.

You are right, it's meant to compete with the A300-330, which it easily blows away. It gets lumped together with the A380 because they are the two most recent planes.

BTW, Airbus laughed at Boeing's idea of a composite airliner, and it appears they were to some extent right. Boeing is pushing the envelope seriously, and the delays are a result. However, after the 787 was underway, Airbus announced the A350 composite airplane to compete, and it isn't expected until 2014.