THIS IS MY OWN OPINION, BASED LOOSELY OFF OF FACTS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HURTING YOUR FEELINGS OR ANY KIDNAPPINGS IN YOUR AREA!!!
Don't get me wrong, the 787 and A350 are beautiful aircraft, and I am glad they exist. However, sometimes I wonder if it was really worth it for Boeing and Airbus to compete in this field. With the dawn of the mid-size intercontinential flights (starting with the Boeing 787-8), airlines no longer have a need for the larger, bulkier, and less agile/manuverable jumbos, specifically talking about the 747 and A380. United and Delta are saying farewell to their 747 fleet by the 3rd quarter of this year (likely by September). After that, there will be no U.S. based passenger 747s. Airlines also don't want more of the better economy A380. The aircraft, even though they hold more people, have nearly the same range as the smaller 777, A350, 787, 767, A340. All of those aircraft variants also hold over 215 people, which is perfect for low demand international flights. So what about the high demand flights? There are so many airlines out there doing those routes, there is no problem. The 747 aircraft are phasing out, and the A380 is losing orders. Why did the A380F get cancelled? Nobody wanted it. The 747 will end up like the legendary DC-10, MD-10, and MD-11 within another decade, and the A380 will end up like the L-1011 in about 15-20 years. The newer 787 can land on shorter airstrips too, making it even better for the airlines.
The same goes for the A320 neo and the new 737 MAX. Chinas new C-919 is a bad aircraft anyway (it's range is equivalent to the MD-80!), but the aircraft has no chance now that the 737 MAX and the A320 neo are on the playing field. (I am so happy they exist lol.)
Tell me your opinion in the comments!
Theres still markets for every different type of plane
So true @Mox
XD @Alienbeef0421
wtf @ForeverPie
@Alienbeef0421 I think the reason for that is Airbus decided to call them the A332 and the A342 lol
Lol.
(Well Emirates does have a luxury area on their 380. Not surprising if they can fit one in their 350.
50s- The beginning of the jet age. The Comet was born.
60s-70s- All out craziness in all aspects of size, and engine count. In these era the legends are born, the 727,DC10,L1011,and lastly, the 7-4.
80s- Passenger aircraft have gone faster due to the availability of more powerful jets. Plans for Mach 2 airliners have been made at this era, and only the Concorde/Tu-144 ever took the skies.
90s-present. Air pollution and efficiency. Now the engineers realize they have to build more powerful yet less gas guzzling engines for newer aircraft, and also change the design. Here's where Airbus actually began to turn the table. Since the A300, Airbus had already been using quite efficient engines. Even better on the second generation Airbus aircraft, the 318/19,320/21 and the 330/340.
Question for you Mr Noobster (you say you're the best) :
Why are there no A331 or A341s produced? lol@ForeverPie
I think it's because I have 2 or more spaces between the boxed area and the blue text
idk how I did it @MaximusTheMinimus
@ForeverPie hey, how do you get the text boxed? I know how to do but letters, but what about the rest?
"the fat cats in the air transportation industry do as well, but they like money more :/" lol
It's kind of sad that we are bidding a farewell to those jets, but you have to know this: the 747- even though it has gone through multiple variations and updates- is a very old aircraft. New technology is always being created, and we will replace our old tech with it. Soon, we're even going to be replacing the 787! If you look back in time, there are many many iconic aircraft that are out of service due to advancements in aeronautical engineering. This retirement of the seven-four and A380 is to be expected in our world. The seven-eight and A350 are newer technologies that have multiple advantages over older aircraft, making them a better choice for big airlines to use. I, too, love the big guys, and I'm sure the fat cats in the air transportation industry do as well, but they like money more :/
@Feanor lol
@ForeverPie Either that or using the spa area to cram in more economy seats.
@FearlessFabEngineering lol
JK it will be speed again
@Alienbeef0421 Then the trend will be putting spas into planes and turning them into practically cruise ships
Yeah, I agree that medium-sized airliners are now the most popular amongst airlines. A few weeks ago I went to France on holiday and i visited the Airbus A380 assembly line in Toulouse. The tour guide explained to us that Airbus had gotten so many orders for the A350 that they had to start constructing them in the A380 hangars. There were 5 or so A350s on the tarmac for outdoor testing and a bunch of them in a different area because there weren't enough gates.
Well it shows that there are trends in aviation since history
In the 50s they began looking into the size side of things. They wanted bigger planes. Now after hitting a certain limit they found out that the engines are noisy, underpowered and inefficient. Add to that its cleanness.
Now the current trend is efficiency, the ultimatum of aviation.
What do you think about the regional airliner market?