Airbus A380 Superjumbo To Make Stop In Bangkok

[cdnvic]

Singapore Airlines started a new service today with new B777 planes.

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/cont...class/index.jsp

Check out even the economy seats. Those have better amenities now too.

Looks cramped compared to the A345's economy seats on Singapore;

[Head Snake]

Singapore Airlines started a new service today with new B777 planes.

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/cont...class/index.jsp

Check out even the economy seats. Those have better amenities now too.

Looks cramped compared to the A345's economy seats on Singapore;

Are the A345's new? I don't recall having that amount of space in economy of any airline.

If planes had that much room, I wouldn't always be comparing economy to business class and weighing the benefits vs. cost on each flight I take.

I like saving money on flights. I'll use miles to upgrade; but usually, paying business or first class is too excessive.

I have decided Singapore economy seats are much better than Thai International Airways. i used to fly Thai; but now I prefer Singapore Airlines.

[cdnvic]

The Singapore - LAX and Singapore - Newark A340-500s have the "Executive Economy" layout that gives the extra legroom for the ungodly long flight. I believe Singapore - Newark is the longest non-stop route in the world at the moment.

[Head Snake]

Singapore Airlines will have the Singapore - Seoul - SFO route with its new cabin design in March 07.

Luckily, my company allows me to do Business class on that flight.

Now, I just have to find a way to transfer my United Airline miles to Singapore Airlines so I can upgrade to 1st class. I feel compelled to try it.

They'd have to pry me from my seat at SFO.

<adds Thai reference> I wonder if they show Thai movies on the entertainment system.

Edited December 6, 2006 by Head Snake

[fisherd3]

So do all these guys think that when they deplane from their 260 seat 787 that just landed after a couple of 600 seater A380s think they are going to get some sort of special treatment because they arrived on a 787?

No of course not, they will join the queue behind the 1200 Airbus users who probably paid a lot less to be in the queue, which really unless they can dispute this contention makes their point utterly irrelevant.

Edited December 6, 2006 by fisherd3

[tolsti]

The only thing about the A380 is what happens if they sell some to an American airline.....just imagine being stuck for 12 hours with so many septics!!!!

[Head Snake]

This just in: Septics know how to run computer program, Lugnuts don't.

An interesting read particularly as the program is developed in France and Boeing is the carrier that is supporting the virtues of this program

Boeing Gives Sneak Peek at New Digital Assembly Line in 'Virtual Rollout' of 787 Dreamliner

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- A powerful computer system that simulates the assembly of Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliner cut typical costs by about 20 percent and trimmed a full year from production, officials said Wednesday

Leaders of Boeing's 787 program showed off the digital assembly line in a "virtual rollout" of the airliner, which is scheduled for its first test flight next summer and for delivery to airlines in 2008.

The fuel-efficient new jet has given Boeing an advantage over troubled European rival Airbus SAS, which just this week formally launched a wide-bodied jet designed to compete with the 787.

Boeing has 435 firm orders for the new 787, and deliveries are booked until late 2013. Mike Bair, the 787 program chief, said Boeing is surprised demand has stayed so strong.

"We kind of anticipated that people would start losing interest as the delivery dates get out there to 2013, and 14 and 15," Bair said. "But the activity in the marketplace just continues unabated."

The digital assembly system, designed by French company Dassault Systemes, allows Boeing engineers and contractors to make sure their products will fit together nearly perfectly before any parts are even shipped to Boeing's assembly plants.

It has even helped improve worker safety, revealing such details as how far a mechanic would have to stretch to reach a particular bolt.

Such an advanced computer system is a first for Boeing. The company has done digital design before, but the new assembly mock-ups have prevented thousands of errors in the manufacturing process.

For example, workers found that some electronic components didn't have enough room to fit in the space they were given during a simulation, allowing engineers to redesign the space well before actual assembly.

"As a former manufacturing engineer, I couldn't imagine ever doing it the way we used to do it," said Scott Strode, vice president of 787 production. The two-engine 787 will deliver better fuel economy than older four-engine jets in the same size category. As fuel prices rise, the fuel-efficiency sales pitch has grown more persuasive.

The 787 has been struggling to reach its target weight, and Boeing is pushing to trim extra pounds. The company still expects to have the 787 at its target weight in time for the first delivery.

Bair said engineers are evaluating individual parts for extra pounds, and continuing to switch some aluminum components to titanium.

The company has been looking for ways to speed up production starting in 2010, but Bair said it won't be clear precisely how to speed up the pace until workers get experience assembling the planes.

"We're waiting a little bit until we get some parts under our belts before we make a final decision," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Boeing announced a name for the converted 747-400 freighters that will ferry large 787 parts from overseas suppliers. The bulky plane will be known as the Dreamlifter. Those Boeing engineers and their catchy product names

And another thing. Those Euros are still drinking warm beer. tsk tsk!!

Edited December 7, 2006 by Head Snake

[sfokevin]

"The Airbus story does not turn on the familiar European issues of excessive taxes, restrictive work rules and 35-hour work weeks. Rather, it's about the pigheadedness of French and German partners who care less about how many planes Airbus sells than how the work is divided between countries."

"The wings of the A380 were made in Britain, the tail in Spain, the rear fuselage in Germany and the nose and front sections in France. Each national unit had its own engineering system, technology, suppliers, and legal and accounting staff"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6101001346.html

[tso310]

TG ordered the A380 primarliy for the LHR and FRA routes. The competitor for the A380 will be the smaller B747-800. Lufthansa has just ordered the passenger variant, the first airline to do so. Already quite a few freighter orders. Due for delivery in 2010 the 800 is 12 feet longer than the existing 400.