2 ms·
I strongly doubt it: larger planes simply don't sell, this is not specific to the A380. Let's look one size below: On Airbus side the second biggest airliner i
by Xixi 8y ago
I strongly doubt it: larger planes simply don't sell, this is not specific to the A380. Let's look one size below:
On Airbus side the second biggest airliner is the A350-1000: very light, top notch engines -> 170 orders so far, very underwhelming, and the project of a bigger A350-2000 has been postponed due to a lack of interest. On Boeing side the 777-9 (not yet flying) has even more modern engines, a super light wing, and besides Emirates nobody is buying it...
- saosebastiao 8y agoFor an aircraft that is not yet flying, the 777-9 has pretty healthy demand from multiple airlines. Lufthansa, Etihad, Qatar, All Nippon, and Singapore have all placed orders. Iran Airlines as well, although nullified by trade embargoes. The bigger 777-10x is also selling well.
- Xixi 8y ago777-8 has 53 sales, and 777-9 has 273 sales, so a total of 326 firm orders. The 777-10 is not for sale, so it's certainly not selling well... 326 firm orders is pretty good, don't get me wrong, but the order book doesn't look super healthy: only 8 airlines, and 46% of the orders for Emirates. With Etihad troubled finances, that might go down to 7 airlines. The order book has depth, but lack breadth. I've often heard the critical size for a widebody is at least 400 sales to 20 airlines. 400 sales to achieve economy of scales, and 20 airlines to have a healthy secondary market. The 777X is not far from the 400 sales, but has some ways to go to find 20 customers. The A330NEO is in a similar but reversed situation: 278 orders for 15 customers (including a couple of lessors). The breadth is nearly there, but not the depth.