Boeing edging out rival in huge air battle?
The European-based Airbus appeared to be stepping away in their hard-fought battle for business with Boeing, but a new report says the US company may now have the edge.
“If Boeing succeeds in winning the battle — and it appears to be well on its way — it will amount to one of the great reversals of business fortunes,” wrote Marc E. Babej and Tim Pollak, partners at Reason Inc., a marketing consulting firm.
Both companies are ready to roll out new jets that have very different visions of future air travel.
Airbus’s A380 superjumbo seat up to 850 passengers. The giant plane is designed to move passengers between huge cities.
Boeing’s new “Dreamliner” 787, however, is designed for point-to-point flights. It can seat far fewer passengers.
The two marketing partners writing in Forbes say that this is a “Hatfields versus McCoys battle with billions of dollars at stake.”
Airbus’s A380 is a bet that an old and often disliked method of air travel, the hub and spoke, will continue.
Boeing, on the other hand, sees future air travel customers choosing more point-to-point flights with more frequency on smaller airplanes.
“Our strategy has been to design and build an airplane that will take passengers where they want to go, when they want to go, without immediate stops,” said Marty Bentrott, vice president of sales, marketing and in-service support for the 787.
The 787’s focus more on such traveler perks as more standing headroom and larger windows.
Airbus’s planes were designed so that cocktail lounges and gyms could be installed, but airlines buying the planes can choose to use the room for seats.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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