We were recently reading the 24/7 Wall Street blog, and discovered their take on the Boeing 747 refit. Since the 787 has been such a success in orders due to its fuel-saving design, the 747-8 has incorporated those new designe elements. It is 11% lighter than the A380, comparing the total weight to the number of seats, as well as consuming 10% less fuel per passenger. Which would apparently translate to a 19% lower trip cost and 3% reduction in seat-mile costs.
Now, the idea of a superjumbo jet is to carry passengers with less costs per seat mile. With a more efficient plane, even with less seating, the costs continues to lower. A plus, most airports won’t have to reconfigure for the 747, as most major airports already are equipped to handle the older models.
The Times Online reports that Airbus will need to win orders worth $78 billion before the A380 project breaks even. That makes the break-even point 420 A380 aircraft must be built to justify development costs. It has so far sold 159. With the delays, the ordering airlines may opt to reduce their orders due to a reduction in faith in the aircraft manufacturer.
Some of Airbus’s woes are attributed to political concerns with EU nations, which have required them to keep operations in certain locations at certain staffing levels that are not cost efficient.
What a singular point of view. First of all, Boeing puts all its efforts to build the 787 Dreamliner, and in so doing, it is, up to now, a successful airplane. However, Boeing continued to deny the Superjumbo market and said, many times that Airbus building the Airbus A380 is foulishness. So why are they refitting the 747 with the 800 model?
As the 787 is a very innovative airplane in its market, the Airbus A380 is a complete innovative airplane in the Superjumbo market and I’m sure they will convince many other airlines when it will be fully operational.
We’re not sure we agree Boeing put all its efforts into the 787 Dreamliner. They continued to improve the successful 737 and 747 product lines, proving that an enduring design is not static, but it constantly being improved with each new edition.
Airbus sought to develop the A380, a totally different concept and size aircraft, seeing the industry going in that direction. They are having many problems with the aircraft. Some of that involve the logistics of such a large market, but many are political ones.
Now, if market demand is any indication, Boeing has orders for three times as many planes right now. Airbus is not in an ideal position to work on a competitor for the 787, the A350 due to their current issues. And Boeing’s smart business move is to note that there is a demand for more seats and they would expand their latest remodel of the 747 brand to accommodate it.
We appreciate the merits of both Airbus and Boeing aircraft, but at the moment, Boeing is making the better business decisions. It seems to us that the 380, despite its merit as an aircraft, will be a serious liability for Airbus for years and may never recoup the development costs.