EURO LEADERS CLAIM LEAD OVER USA!

Drudge Report/AFP News ^ | 1/18/05 | AFP

[highimpact]

Tuesday January 18, 10:44 PM Airbus unveils its superjumbo, European leaders hail lead over US

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.

[dfwgator]

Actually it makes sense for Muslim countries to purchase the aircraft, since the flights to Mecca for the Hajj should be full.

[July 4th]

I would be surprised if this thing was ever used for inter-European travel. It will be used on the big US routes, to New York and LA, as well as the big routes between Europe and Asia, and the routes within Asia that are becoming increasingly dense. There's a reason why Emirates bought a whole boatload of the things - they're a hugely popular airline for Europeans traveling to the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, and the 777s on those routes are packed.

[Alouette]

the inside looks quite nice.

Those are graphic renderings, not actual photos. YMMV

[highimpact]

I have visions of an A380 filled with French Surrender Monkeys crashing into the Clinton Liebary. But somehow I doubt Little Rock will be providing service to France.

[reagandemo]

The 737 and the Canadair commuter are the planes of the future. They are very economical and have a very low maintenance cost. This Frog Spruce Goose is only good for transatlantic hauls and frieght. They will loose their shirts on this just as they did not the Concourse.

[reagandemo]

The 737 and the Canadair commuter are the planes of the future. They are very economical and have a very low maintenance cost. This Frog Spruce Goose is only good for transatlantic hauls and freight. They will loose their shirts on this just as they did not the Concourse.

[Solamente]

"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."

They'd be king of the horse drawn carriage if not for the Wright Brothers.

[neutrality]

Airbus already grabs more than 50 percent of global orders for passenger planes.

[yankeedame]

Good God Almighty!! Who are these...these...dweebs??

Going from left to right:

- The character--w/glasses--looks like he should be on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, or one of those Home Design shows on in the late morning on Lifetime channel.

- The next next guy (hands in lap) looks like a propped up store mannequin.

- The next guy over -- doing the Toy-Monkey clap-- looks like a upper management brown-noser e.g. "That's a funny one, boss","Yes,sir,you're absolutely right!", "Say, have you lost weight or something? You look great!"

- The next guy over -- red striped tie -- looks like a character out of the old Dick Tracy comics. No-neck Mushmouth??

- And the last guy...that expression...that little mouse shaped head...and why is he looking at those other guys? Is he one of those characters that always needs approval?

[Nowhere Man]

It is predictable that in the next 20 years, another Hitler type character will rise to power there and start the whole debacle of the 30's and 40's all over again. The Euros are incapable of managing their own affairs and with their burgening Muslim populations getting more powerful, it is a scary scenerio.

I know what you mean. Anyone up for a Moslem Hitler? (Shudder)

I work at a photolab at a drugstore and one lady needed to have digital prints made from her camera. We got talking a bit since her class (she was a teacher) was sending pics to a soldier they adopted in Afghanistan. Well, she doesn't support the war, she's a big Kerry supporter, but I got to hand her credit, she isn't a rabid DUer type, which is refreshing, and we got along very well. She's been to Europe and Germany where there are many people who still honor what their relatives did in World War II and still give support to the Nazis. If that is the case, we could be in for a rough ride.

Needless to say, with all the social programs in Europe, you do need some source of money, labor and so on to keep them going hence the high taxes and the high unemployment rate. At some point on the present course, something is going to break and crash and we could see the next Hitler.

Either the Moslems will gain power and we will end up with a "Moslem Hitler" or things go the other way and through inaction of today's governments to the Islamo-Fascist threat, things will knee-jerk ou of control and you could see some sort of Nazi-like, "white-power" dictator rise up and repeat what Hitler did or tried to do. In World War II, Germany wasn't too much of a direct threat to the United States and although got badly mauled in Russia, they did a lot of damage there, but can you imagine a 21st Century Hitler with nukes?

[ops33]

For most of my adult life I have worked at airports, AFB bases and in aviation. I was both a firefighter and an air traffic controller in the USAF and for the past 12 years I have worked at airport operations at a medium size hub airport. The problems an aircraft of this size will bring are enormous. Getting your baggage is just one. There will be restrictions on which airports this aircraft can use because of its weight and wing spread. At airports it can use, there will be restrictions on taxiways and runways it can use because it will not have sufficient wing tip clearance from other aircraft. Because of its overall size, it will only be able to use certain gates and jet bridges. If the Europeans could not make Concorde work with its great advantage in speed and flying time, how will an aircraft that simply carries more passengers be profitable.

[farmguy]

Brought to you by the company that designs airplanes with tails that fall off when you use the rudder

[Nowhere Man]

The 737 and the Canadair commuter are the planes of the future. They are very economical and have a very low maintenance cost. This Frog Spruce Goose is only good for transatlantic hauls and frieght. They will loose their shirts on this just as they did not the Concourse.

True, I think as someone pointed out, the A380 could possibly be the way to haul cargo and military equipment around although you still have the bugbear of airports and runways being able to handle it. With a lot of the military's needs to land on short and/or unimproved runways, I doubt the A380 could handle anything outside of Ramstein Air Force Base.

[neutrality]

Because operating costs are 15 to 20 percent lower than the largest aircraft flying today and range 10 to 15 percent longer.

[shezza]

Maybe it'll reduce their whining and moaning.

I wouldn't bet a nickel on that one.

[isthisnickcool]

Actually, on the terrorist issue I'd rather be flying one of these then on a 747.....

It's a huge target for MANPADS. That was the point of my post. It's easier to shoot down.

[isthisnickcool]

Actually, on the terrorist issue I'd rather be flying one of these then on a 747.....

It's a huge target for MANPADS. That was the point of my post. It's easier to shoot down.

[GarySpFc]

And imagine the damage if one of these super monsters were ever used by terrorists as a missile.

[Ed Thomas]

Ah. Didn't realise as I have no idea what a MANPAD is (type of SAM, yeah?). I espect the thing'll be fitted with the same countermeasures that most large airliners have these days. If that's the best argument against the A380 I'm personally still sold.

[uglybiker]

The huge A380 superjumbo, which can carry up to 840 people on its two full decks...

And to turn a profit, they will need to fly 'em at capacity.

Just imagine a plane crammed with 840 Frenchmen. It'll look, sound and smell just like the Ft. Worth stockyards.