Intersting Boeing Dreamliner story. Am posting for general interest. Don't know about any investing implications.
Dreams of Big Profits
Boeing has unveiled the 787 Dreamliner and it appears to be aptly named. They have nearly 700 orders on the books and are increasing prices to take advantage of the demand. If you order one today, you'd have to wait until 2015 to take delivery.
The Dreamliner is a big deal because it reflects a quantum leap in technology--no more aluminium or rivets--the plane is literally woven and glued into shape, making it stronger, lighter and longer-lasting. The weight advantage makes it extremely fuel efficient, giving it an amazing range for an average size plan--flying non-stop from St. Louis to Shanghai for example. Since corrosion is no longer an issue, the air onboard can be more humid, relieving the discomfort of long flights.
Airbus is so screwed.
Its not an exaggeration to compare the 787 with the advent of steam ships--the technology is so revolutionary that it will completely change the face of the industry. If you take a flight this year, and another one in ten years, it will be a completely different experience.
The technology allows airlines to fly many fewer passengers at far lower cost for much longer distances, giving them an amazing new flexibility in creating new routes that bypass the congestion at mega airports like Atlanta and LAX. By eliminating those bottlenecks, you'll have far fewer flight delays due to weather in another part of the continent. There will be more and smaller international airports. You'll fly direct to far more destinations, you'll be more comfortable and it will be cheaper to fly.
As the technology migrates down to the smaller planes, you'll undoubtedly see regional airlines become far more important players just as they did after the second world war.
Pan Am dominated air travel during the 20s and 30s largely because the large aircraft capable of international flights were "flying boats" such as the Sikorksy S-40 and 42 and Pan Am had managed to lock up landing rights all over the world. Post-war, aircraft like the DC-3 transformed the industry with their far longer range. The technology of the DC-3 essentially gave us the modern air travel system by allowing flights to take off from "fields" and completely bypass Pan Am's sea-based landing rights monopoly. Virtually every major airline in the United States today was originally a regional mail carrier operation until the technology allowed them to consider new possibilities. I think we can expect more of the same now.
Time to buy Skywest shares...
Posted by Mick Stockinger o
uncorrelated.com |
