Geekfoolery

Today, Boeing Aircraft unveiled the 787 Dreamliner, on the happy coincidence of 7/8/07. Maybe you have to be some kind of airplane nerd to get excited about this… after all, at first glance, it’s a big white tube with wings and 2 engines, and in all likelihood bad food and and delayed departures.

But if you’re not an airplane nerd, indulge me for a moment and consider the following: Boeing aircraft have been nearly synonymous with commercial air travel since before World War II when the Pan Am Clipper fleet of Boeing 314 flying boats set the standard for luxury, the post-war 377 Stratocruiser, to the succession of airliners that defined air travel in the jet age–the whole 7×7 series, starting with the 707, 737, and venerable 747.

The 787 Dreamliner will incorporate design innovations aimed at saving fuel, such as construction from composite materials instead of aluminum. This is an important distinction between the new Boeing jet and the European entry into the market, the Airbus 380–a revolutionary design in that the new Airbus has a double passenger deck for the length of the fuselage, and is expected to carry 535 passengers with first/business/economy class, and a whopping 853 passengers if the whole plane is configured with economy class. This compares to the 416 that a 747-400 can carry with three classes.

I spend a fair amount of time sitting in aluminum tubes at 35,000 feet, and I do wonder what either of these planes are going to do for me, Joe Passenger, as this next generation of long-haul aircraft enters service.

The Airbus Superjumbo is supposed to begin hauling passengers from London to Singapore and on to Sydney in October of this year, on what’s called the “kangaroo route.” The press photos of the Airbus make it seem like the immense size of the interior of the plane was some kind of luxurious extravagance, and the airlines will be scrambling to come up with innovative ways to use the extra space–bars, beauty salons, casinos have all been suggested. It sounds like bowling alleys and discos wouldn’t be stretch for the 380–the idea seems to be to build up the image that flying a long-haul flight on the Superjumbo will be more like a cruise than a flight. I’ll meet Julie on the Promenade deck, please.

The early versions of the 747 had the extra space as well, and in the 70s, that upper deck wasn’t business class, it was a lounge, with couches and coffee tables, and I imagine 70s-era flight attendants serving refreshments. I had a chance to see the lounge once as a child during a flight back in the days when little kids were taken up front to see the cockpit.

I expect the Airbus 380s mini-mall in the sky, if it ever truly sees the light of day, will be quickly turned over to seats full of paying passengers, given the economics of air travel. While I am definitely curious to fly in the Superjumbo, my gut tells me that flying with upwards of 800 other people and their carry-on bags is going to make me think of the Bus more than the Air in Airbus.

The Dreamliner, in comparison, is designed to hold a maximum of 330 passengers, depending on the configuration, with an average of around 250. The 787’s smaller capacity and greater fuel economy makes a lot more sense in the world of today’s air travel. We’re not looking at a handful of major hubs as the only points of long-haul debarkation anymore. More and more, “International” is showing up the name of secondary and tertiary airports. As an airline, I might be able to sell 800 seats to Sydney from LA two or three times a week, but with the 787, I can fly direct flights from San Diego or Phoenix and still make money with a full flight.

The Airbus Superjumbo is a marvel of engineering, and it makes great magazine covers… it would have been even better if they’d decided to build it with two separate fuselages, but as it stands, everyone knows it’s the double-decker plane.

A lot of people might be reading those magazines while on a flight in a Boeing Dreamliner, though. For once, bigger is not necessarily better. Proof is in the orders… Airbus has less that 200 orders for the 380, while Boeing has more that 700 order for the Dreamliner.

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