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11-07-2005, 23:52 | #1 |
Sad Little Monkey
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A-380 or B-747-400?
I'm in the middle of a predicament. I'm about to purchase a wide-bodied jet airliner. And I simply can't choose between Airbus A-380 and Boeing 747-400 (the infamous Jumbo Jet).
I know what you're thinking - A-380 is a lot more modern in every respect. I'll be a part of the in crowd for decades with that baby. Meanwhile origins of the Jumbo go back to the 60s. But still - despite it's age and obsolete technology (which is relative - for instance you still get a glass cockpit inside a new 747) - it's still a status symbol. Something you proudly point at, when it's waiting for you at the airport, being fueled up. I'd use the plane primarily to make short hops between European capitals with an occasional weekly leap across the great pond. Don't start with the "you don't need a wide-bodied jet for that" crap. I know that. So spare me with advices to buy a Boeing 777 or an Airbus 340 (what's next? A freaking DC-9?! Sheesh). As I mentioned above an airplace is as a status symbol. The elite. A sign that you made it. Top of the heap. King of the Hill. New York, Neeewww Yooooork... errr, anyway for that you can't go any better than a wide-bodied beauty. So you can safely proclaim without any hint of a doubt that yours is infact the widest and the longest of them all. As far as the interior is concerned it's not really an issue of differentiation between the two - both maufacturers build in whatever you desire. So my dilemma revolves around technical stuff mostly. I can get a brand-spanking new A-380 for $280 million, while Boeing wants to sell me their 747 for a ridiculously low $210 million (it's like they want to give it away for free, I swear!) - but that price includes the student discount, which is around $5 million. On the other hand there is a lot more maintanence and pure running costs with a 747. The Airbus A-380 is at least 30% cheaper to run not to mention it consumes less fuel. Especially if I go for the optional Royce Rolls Trent 900 jet engines. Which I might - cerosin doesn't grow on trees, you know? Also - Airbus is made in the good old EU. Me as a pround European should prefer "our" stuff before American, right? Besides - my pilots are all trained on Airbus platforms, so they wouldn't have to adapt a lot, since an A-380 cockpit is practically identical to A-320/330/340 (I'm having a small staff crises otherwise - all my crews are complaining for getting just canned corn and 2 pieces of bread each for lunch. I can't help it - I can get planes on credit. But pilots want cash. Damn bastards - let them go to Lufthansa if they please. I'm sure they'll never ever allow them christmas vacations, like I do. I'm soft, yeah, I know.) Anyway... I almost made up my mind already for the A-380 but darn those Boeing boys - they sweetened the deal and made it tough to decide for me once again: now they're offering me the 747-400 ER (Extended Range), for the SAME price. And that's not all. They'll also throw in a 100 tons of cerosin, a ton of vaseline and an air-freshner for the cockpit. And there's another downfall to Airbus - I could get it in 2008 the soonest, while I'd be glidding with a brand new Jumbo by the end of next year already. I swear I don't know what to do. Honestly it's so hard to choose that I just might continue riding my bicycle for a while. It's THAT tough to choose. |
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freddie | TatySite.net t.E.A.m. [ multyman@hotmail.com ] Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. |
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12-07-2005, 09:59 | #2 | |
you'll need love
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Taastrup, Denmark
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,298
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Yeah I'm voting for the Boeing. It looks more impressive. Not sure it can fit Lolland-Falster airport but it'll fit the one in Copenhagen I hope.. |
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Don't waste your time on me you're already the voice inside my head |
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12-07-2005, 10:32 | #3 |
blah
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,246
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I vote for the Boeing too
But freds, for that amount of money (or even half), I can turn into an airplane! Honestly! |
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12-07-2005, 14:25 | #4 |
iMod
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Normandie
Age: 55
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,839
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I'll choose the A-380 without hesitation, the 747 is an antiquity and much smaller, with the A-380 you get the highest technology and a full double deck.
But different people like different things, it's like having to choose between a 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood and a brand new Bentley Flying Spur, American vintage luxury against European high-tech luxury, personally i'll go for the Bentley. |
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Patrick | TatySite.net t.E.A.m. [ shortdickman@free.fr ] |
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12-07-2005, 14:49 | #5 |
Re-Offender
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Shanghai , China
Posts: 2,103
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You can never go wrong if you purchase BOTH !!!
I would do this if I was you ... |
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12-07-2005, 18:59 | #6 |
enter sadman
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of course i'd choose airbus a380... it's OUR (european) product and i believe it's better in every aspect... but primarily because it's 'made in eu' and haku, bentley would be my choice too, but if we were in usa (or somewhere with wide enough and long enough roads) i would certainly like to try out that cadillac |
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030904 - worst day of my life .:ignorance is a bliss:. .:truth is just an excuse for the lack of imagination:. |
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13-07-2005, 19:59 | #7 | |
The Ghost of Heroic Past
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As an airline employee I prefer A-380.It's a huge step in aerospace technology.Sure,Jumbo is old good fella who shook the airline business once upon a time...but he is becoming obsolete. Le roi est mort! Vive le roi!
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18-07-2005, 03:52 | #8 | ||||
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Yes, the 747 is a status symbol. Those pilots get paid a ton of money. Quote:
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Nice thread idea! I'm really interested in jet liners, airports, and other related things. |
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Last edited by ypsidan04; 18-07-2005 at 04:20. |
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20-07-2005, 12:01 | #9 | |
Sad Little Monkey
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[quote=ypsidan04]
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The only other possibility in absolute lenght is probably Antonov An-225 (eventhough I'm not sure if it's really any longer than 340-600). But what am I going to do with a decaying russian military machine? |
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freddie | TatySite.net t.E.A.m. [ multyman@hotmail.com ] Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. |
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