Airbus A380

Varifrank has an interesting observation about the new Airbus A380 and its viability. Economic viability that is... bq. No Bucks, No Buck Rodgers With great pomp and with the whir of cameras everywhere, the Europeans announced the launch of the Airbus A380, an aircraft slated to carry over 800+ passengers. The Europeans are justifiably excited about this occasion, as they can no claim the crown of the � world largest commercial aircraft�. bq. Now, If you�ve been to this site often enough you know I love aircraft, any aircraft, flying or not. I even like the looks of the Wilga. My wife calls my obsession � air porn�, and I tend to agree with her. I think that flying is the ultimate expression of technological man. You can talk all you want about big computer programs and big system wiring diagrams but there�s just nothing better than making an airplane with your own two hands, sitting in the pointy end and doing something that was impossible just a 100 years ago. Flying is freedom personified. bq. So, I don�t want anyone to think I�m just �banging on the Euros� here. I like the A380, and I hope it will be successful. However the challenges the A380 faces are not aerodynamic, they are in another science altogether, once that is far less understood and more often than not ignored. That science is economics. He points out that Boeing did look at two designs for very large aircraft of this type but when they shopped them to their customers, the customers kept coming back with: bq. What their customers told them was clearly and emphatically �No thanks�, �we really just want a bigger more efficient 737�. He also points out the Concorde as well as three other European aircraft that were the downfall of their representative companies. bq. More recently, The Concorde serves as another aircraft, magnificent in its engineering but horribly deficient in its ability to capture market. The Concorde was highly subsidized by the people of France and the United Kingdom, and for both governments to get the investment back, they would need to see a minimum of 250 orders. What they got was 16 and all were made to their own government owned airlines. Interesting observations. Europe is in bad enough financial straits as it is -- what will the Airbus do for their economy.