The Two Big Birds.. Who Wins ??

I ran into a dilemma when I first tried to pick one of the planes. But I later decided to talk about the Dreamliner since it still needs a while to commercially serve although the first one has arrived Tokyo. What also made me stayed away from the A-380 was that the big arguments about its recent issues regarding current engines and thus the long-term performance of the plane. I’m sure that the European project’s supporters will have a lot to say in their blogs which I’m excited to read and know about.

In late 2006, Boeing had a belief that the “soon coming” super jumbo A-380 was going to be a really great shift in the air transport industry. However, at the same time, the European opponent would not be a true miracle due to lots of reasons especially the size. As a matter of fact, Boeing was actually in the middle of establishing a new assembly line that was determined to give the industry the birth of a new “big bird” which was later announced the B-7E7. In 2008, the A-380 entered the service at Singapore Airlines and Boeing watched this European market invasion with extreme caution. The American firm also had to struggle so many times for 5 years due to different issues such as engine failure on a test flight and the famous machinists’ strike in South Carolina plant in 2010. Yet, Boeing never gave up keeping in mind all disadvantages the A-380 came up with through out these few years.

The Dreamliner became an “adult” in Dec-2009 and flew carrying the “American Dream” onboard with it when it took off from Everett, WA and cruised for 3 hours and successfully landed on Boeing Field Seattle, WA. It was an amazing start for a plane that got delayed for almost 3 years. Now with the following simple stats:

>    Cruising speed up to Mach 0.85 ( Same for A-380)

>    Seat capacity up to 290 ( 474 for A-380 in “Test Cabin”)

>    Range: 8,200 NM ( 8,000 NM for A-380)

and more, of course, The Dreamliner ended up being the most desirable commercial plane for most of the globe’s operators. 235 plane-orders were placed for it from 25 different airlines while only 178 plane-orders placed for the A-380 from only 13 carriers according to a comparison published by TheTelegraph, London, UK.

            Boeing realized a while ago, and unlike Airbus, that travelers wanted speed, frequency, and direct connections so the B-787 was born as an excellent result of Boeing’s preoccupation. The aircraft is swift and much more fuel efficient, with a 20% reduction of both; emissions and carbon. It is lighter, smaller and can access regional airports with easiness. The big news for the B-787 passengers is that the aircraft could be pressurized for a lower altitude and with higher cabin humidity, from my technical experience; this means passengers will not arrive their destination looking and feeling like a dried peanut!

            I can say that both big birds are evolutional but what makes a one better is what all parties believe in them; firms’ executives, crews, mechanics and passengers. Without really hearing from all of them, judging our heroes here would seem like a waste and a reasonable judgment would not be possible before both birds are in full service.

So until then, “I would say the biggest challenge is as they head into this ramp up is making sure 787 is profitable for themselves as they hope it will be for their customers.” Ostrower said, a writer for Flight Int’l Magazine, (taken from Ms. Wall’s class handout). And I would say the same thing for the A-380.

            I will conclude by submitting the fact that having the globe’s leader carriers, especially in the Arab Gulf area where I belong, racing each other getting both aircraft, this will defiantly heat up the competition resulting in increased maturity of the area’s industry which of course will provide future aviation managers like me with greater opportunities to join the market with trust and comfort on a hand, assured and long-term job security on the other hand in both; public and private sectors.