The Lowe Down
September 2007
Next month, the Boeing 747 will be dethroned as the Queen of the Skies when the Airbus 380 takes to the skies for Singapore Airlines.
Truth be told, the 555 seat plane (though most airlines will be carrying less than 500 passengers per plane) is ugly. It does not have the grace or elegance of Juan Trippe’s bird, who commissioned Boeing to design the worlds first double decker jet in 1969.
No, the A380 is just plane an ugly bird.
Though bean counters in airlines rich enough to afford the pricetag of the plane (and this does not include a SINGLE American carrier to date….) the plane will be a boon for profits: more quiet engines will mean more premium class seats (Singapore Air is dedicating more than 50% of the top deck of the A380 for Biz Class….) and that means reduced costs for peasant class chairs.
That is until the oil runs out.
For more on the history of the Boeing 747, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747
http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/747.html