Aeronautic Schadenfreude

The Weekly Standard's Daily Standard website carries an interesting description of the Airbus - Boeing rivalry that's well worth a read.

The column is very Boeing-biased but so am I. James Thayer points out that Boeing has pulled back into a dominant position against its European rival by better predicting airline trends, specifically the emergence of point-to-point over hub-and-spoke; better technology, with fuel efficient composites; and what this software guy would call "legacy support:" Boeing planes don't need new airports to land in.

I see, unsurprisingly, parallels to EU and US economics. I'll admit I was surprised to see the A-380 take-off so well as it were. The monster jet is like the monster governments that build it. Everybody will go the same place at the same time (and they won't mind waiting an hour to deplane...)

The Boeing Dreamliner is more American in spirit. It's lighter, goes farther, is more-fuel efficient, and more comfortable than competitors' and legacy planes. Companies and countries all around the world are choosing the Dreamliner over the A-380. Let's hope they see the parallel and choose American freedom.

Posted by jk at December 16, 2005 12:16 PM