Right Sizing (AirCraft and Air Route Topologies)
Future Fliers: Airbus Bulks Up; Boeing Slims Down
[FAC: I found this in the Infoporn Section of the July 2001 hard copy of Wired Magazine. The piece speaks to an issue with parallels in many other venues outside of air travel - specifically, wrt data- and tele- communications - which is why I’m posting it here. Also, it addresses in some manner the issue that I was briefly musing over with ElMat upstream (linked). Even in the realm of air travel QoS costs more. And sometimes a direct path (private line) is called for, instead of routing through shared node (hub and spoke) facilities. See bolded part below. The article:]
As Airbus Industrie preps the A380 – a mammoth yet fuel-efficient double-decker – for a 2006 rollout, rival Boeing is rethinking its jumbo jet strategy. After 35 years of making supersized planes, the American company has decided that bigger may no longer be better. Airlines are showing limited interest in a stretched-limo update of the 747, so Boeing has begun touting a smaller, speedier bird instead.
The so-called Sonic Cruiser would create a new class of aircraft, rather than compete head-on with the A380. The cruiser’s proposed specs and launch date are still on the drawing board; the goal is to fly fewer passengers faster and more frequently in a 767-sized plane, making up for extra fuel costs in reduced overall operating expenses.
The company maintains its change of course isn’t a concession to its European competitor, but an acknowledgement that flight patterns are changing: Business travelers will pay more to bypass traditional hub-and-spoke routes in favor of direct point-to-point flights. Time is money. – Mark Durham
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In the two accompanying diagrams:
- The Airbus A380 diagram shows
Length: 240 ft
Wingspan: 262 feet
Crusing Speed: Mach .85
Range: 8,150 nautical miles
Maximum Altitude: 43,100 feet
Passenger Load: 555
- The Boeing Sonic Cruiser shows:
Length: 160-200 feet (est.)
Wingspan: 155-170 feet (est.)
Cruising Speed: Mach .95
Range: 9,000 nautical miles (est.)
Maximum Altitude: 45,000 feet or higher
Passenger Load: 175-250 |
