(The largest 747 has a single-aisle upper deck running only part of the length of the fuselage.)Ī grand staircase reminiscent of a cruise ship and wide enough for two people would greet passengers as they board. What Airbus proposes is a brand-new four-engine jet with two twin-aisle decks stacked one on top of the other. ''But people believe that it is nearing the end of its history.'' ''I admire the 747 a lot,'' said Philip Jarry, vice president for market development in Airbus's large-aircraft division. If Airbus does not build the A3XX, it will cede a large portion of those sales to Boeing.īut if the demand turns out smaller than Airbus forecasts, the A3XX, which analysts say will cost a minimum of $10 billion (and possibly much more) to produce, could become the biggest white elephant in aircraft history.īut the fact that Boeing's go-for-broke bet on the 747 ultimately paid off may be an inspiration to Airbus. Of the $1 trillion worth of new passenger jets that will be purchased in the next 20 years, it predicts that at least two of every five will be able to carry 350 passengers or more.
And because the 747 has no competition, it is the source of an outsized share of Boeing's airplane profits.Īirbus, the European consortium founded by Britain, France, Germany and Spain in 1970, has been gradually gaining market share and would like to reach 50 percent of the annual global market from about 40 percent today. Alone at the high end of the market, the 747 is the foundation of Boeing's pre-eminence. ''We just happen to have a philosophical difference of opinion,'' said Joseph W. Some skeptics say a prolonged Asian slump could put a damper on plans for a huge new plane, but Airbus insists that is not a factor. Airbus counters that few new airports will be built over the next two decades and that environmental restrictions are likely to become more stringent, meaning that the glut of new travelers will need to fly in larger planes. But Boeing believes that smaller, longer-range planes will meet the needs of most travelers, who will prefer to fly direct from, say, Chicago to Singapore rather than changing planes in Tokyo. Strip away, for a moment, the posturing and self-serving pronouncements that are part and parcel of one of the world's most cutthroat rivalries and you have two different views of the way air travel will evolve.īoth plane makers agree that passenger traffic will nearly triple in 20 years. It has proposed a new 600-passenger double-decker super-jumbo - dubbed the A3XX - that it promises will be faster, quieter, more cost-efficient and able to fly farther than the 747. Airbus Industrie, Boeing's aggressive European challenger, says yes.
The question inevitably arises whenever airline executives gather these days: Does the world need a brand-new passenger jet larger than the 747?īoeing, which makes that venerable 420-seat jumbo jet - still, after nearly 30 years, the largest commercial plane in the air - says no.