Click Like to Follow Fliegerfaust Facebook page to get the News ASAP / Share to share this post now.

October 28, 2019 - by ADDISON SCHONLAND for airinsight.com

Boeing made the better bet when it decided to go for the 787, while Airbus went for the A380.

This should have given Boeing a big advantage over Airbus. After all, while Boeing bet on the 777, Airbus tried to refresh the A340.

These were two fumbles by Airbus. The A350 v1 was another Airbus misstep. These missteps by Airbus are odd in retrospect when one considers how successful the A330 was, even back then.

The lesson from that era is that the future belongs to big twins.

Boeing bet first and, largely, has been successful. The 777 went on, in the 777-300ER, to create the benchmark long-haul airliner. It's economics outclassed the revised A340s. (Remember Virgin Atlantic's slightly desperate Four Engines for Longhaul campaign?)

Boeing tried (half-heartedly) with the 747-8, but the sun was setting on four-engine airliners.

Fortunately for Boeing, its experience with freighters ensures that the 747-8 will soldier on. Meanwhile, Boeing had to suffer through some ignominy with the 787-8 and its battery. That settled down and the -9 and -10 have proven the basic 787 concept to be a sound platform. Meanwhile, the 777X program's initial warm market reception has cooled.

At Airbus, there was one more fumble – the...

Read more https://airinsight.com/the-big-twin-battle/