Dreamliner Good, A380 Bad

In other words, US good, Europe bad. Double standards galore when comparing the reporting for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A380. The rival aircraft manufacturing companies envisioned two different business plans for the future - Airbus with an eye to less landing spots and congestion at airports, sees the need for bigger aircraft, while Boeing going against that view and opting for supposedly new materials to make planes more fuel-efficient. Both aircraft experienced extreme delays of many years, infuriating clients. However, while much negative press was generated for Airbus, resulting in major drops in share price, mass lay-offs and a restructure, it's all positive (or no) press for the equally troubled Boeing 787. Just compare these two reports and see. The Airbus report from 2006 is full of negative language: Anger; Bailing Out; Disappointment; Troubled History; Job Losses. However, for the 787, it's all given a positive spin: journey from crisis to flight; suppliers and technology; persistent problems - but that's followed by 'Long-term success'; strong sales; more orders - i.e. the problems have been solved and all will be rosy in the future. Honestly, it reads like a Boeing press release. Not as much emphasis is given that the Dreamliner is now 3 years late, is plagued with problems that are proving its much vaunted fuel efficiency, range and technical advantages are fantasy, and that it won't solve the world's problems with air travel - only exacerbate them.

The World does not need more aircraft flying with less capacity over longer distances. Airports around the world cannot accommodate more aircraft in this high frequency pattern. What needs to be done is more aircraft like the A380 to cover long distances between hubs, then connecting with smaller aircraft covering shorter distances. On an environmental basis, this is the most sustainable option.

However, when looking at this Boeing vs Airbus media war, it seems that the kudos of having the world's biggest aircraft is a masculinity competition of greatest prowess. Europe with its A380 means it has the biggest dick in the world, something the USA had before with the Boeing 747. Boeing could have made a new big dick, but its American clients don't want big dicks - they want smaller ones so they can use them more of the time. This concept of US national pride is the only reason I think of up regarding this need to rubbish the A380 but praise the B787, though I strongly suspect there are other business interests at play here in the background.