Modern Widebody & Long Haul Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing

1) Write a brief statement about each aircraft. Basic stats (long haul/short haul, wide/narrow body, etc.), current status (in development, currently in production), what makes this aircraft different than previous aircraft from that manufacturer and anything else that may be noteworthy about the aircraft.

Boeing 787; Basic Stats: Long Range - Wide body - In Production

Boeing primarily wanted one major important function from the 787; fuel efficiency. This was to be accomplished via various means, but primarily through the reduction of aircraft weight. The easiest way to reduce weight on the 787? Change the fuselage composition, which would cause a significant decrease in the basic operating weight of the aircraft. Historically, airliners were manufactured from various metals, primarily aluminum. However, the Boeing 787 was to be designed by a new material called "Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP)". Essentially, a composite-based fuselage structure. Obviously, using a composite based on polymers derived from Plexiglas, carbon, and various reinforced plastics is going to be significantly lighter than metal-based fuselages (i.e.: aluminum). This is the primary difference between the 787 and Boeing's preceding line of manufactured aircraft.

Moreover, another difference from the 787 is its use on primarily electrically operated systems. Utilizing electronic-based systems offers even further reduced aircraft weight by avoiding the numerous heavy-weighted hydraulic systems found on common airliners today (and on Boeing's previous aircraft). There's much more to the Boeing 787 and it's such a vastly different aircraft than nearly any other commercial aircraft currently in existence.

Fun fact: American Airlines, a Boeing 787 customer, relies on polished-aluminum fuselages for their paint scheme -- (click here to see photo). Because you cannot polish a composite-based fuselage (think of it like polishing a coarse surface, such as plastic, or sandpaper, etc.), it remains to be seen as to how American will paint their fleet of 787's. Either the 787's for American will look entirely different (paint-scheme wise) than any of American's other aircraft, or American will redesign a new livery/corporate image for the entire airline.

Airbus A380; Basic Stats: Long Range - Wide body - In Production

What makes the A380 different from any of Airbus's preceding aircraft is pretty obvious in the aircrafts appearance; a double decker. Historically, airbus has never had a double-decker based aircraft, and the A380 is the first of its kind for the company. The A380 was conceived in the 90's and was to serve as a strategic competitor to Boeing's 747 line. Moreover, Airbus wanted to round out their product line, wanting to have a "flagship" based aircraft of their product line, which the A380 was to become.

The A380 is a unique aircraft and features an array of amenities never before seen on an airliner. A few interesting facts about the A380: Features a semi-composite based fuselage, utilizing 'GLARE' materials (an aluminum/glass fiber based composite -- this is different than the 787); the A380 has the largest passenger carrying capacity of any commercial aircraft in the world; and an interesting thing to note is that the A380 Freighter had received several orders from UPS, FedEx, and other cargo operators, however because Airbus could not guarantee a firm delivery date, every cargo carrier cancelled their orders. Moreover, all of them then later purchased either the Boeing 777LRF (Long Range Freighter) or the Boeing 747-800F instead. As of now, the orders for the A380F stand at 0, and airbus still has no specified delivery date (at this point, who knows if they'll ever even manufacture it).

Boeing 748; Basic Stats: Long Range - Wide body - 747-800F (Freighter): In Production; 747-800 Passenger: Under Development

The Boeing 747-800 is yet another extension to Boeing's highly successful 747 line of aircraft. There are several differences between the Boeing 747-800, Boeing's older 747 family line of aircraft, and other Boeing aircraft. Compared to the older Boeing 747-400, the 747-800 shares a nearly identical cockpit, thereby allowing crews to transition with ease under the same type rating. The 747-800 is a stretched variant of the 747-400, having increased by 18.3 feet in fuselage length. The 747-800 has an interim technological design between the older 747-400 based technology and newer 787 technologies. The 748 has completely redesigned wings to take into effect the significant-new increases in passenger and/or weight/cargo carrying capacity. The new wings have been the primary change of the 747-800. The new wings add increased fuel capacity, decreased wake turbulence, decreased drag, and obviously can support an increased load. Because of the newly designed wings and more modern engines (GEnx), the 747-800 offers an approximate 16% decrease in fuel consumption over the 747-400.

Interesting fact: The GE "GEnx" engines for the 747-800 are identical to the 787; the 747 simply featuring four, of course, instead of two on the 787.

Boeing 747-800 Facts -- Click Here
Boeing 747-800 Information -- Click Here

Airbus A350; Basic Stats: Long Range - Wide body - Under Development

The A350 is a competing aircraft to the Boeing 787 and Boeing 777. The A350 will be Airbus's first CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) based fuselage and CFRP based wing design. Interesting fact about this aircraft is that Airbus was more less pressured into designing it, due to the development of the 787. Originally, the A350 was simply an "updated A330"; however Airbus received a relatively poor response to the prospect of a vaguely updated A330 to compete with the 787. In October 2005, Airbus officially announced they would design an entirely new A350, stretching the fuselage (width wise) to compete with the capacity of the Boeing 777, but also offering several technological features, fuel enhancements, and several other amenities comparable to the Boeing 787, thus also competing with the 787. Therefore, the A350 can be best thought of as primarily a competitor to the Boeing 787, with the capacity and size comparable to the 777.

2) Based on these current aircraft and the current status of these manufacturers and the industry, who do you foresee taking the lead in commercial jet manufacturing and why?

Personally, I believe Boeing has the advantage due to the 787 and 747-800 product lines, in comparison to the A350 and A380. Boeing has an extensive history of 767 customers and, being the old aircraft that the 767 is, many of Boeing's 767 customers will soon be replacing these 80's-era based aircraft. They'll likely choose the 787 when doing so because the capacity is comparable and the 787 would easily fit into 767-based networks with ease. Most 767 operators operate the 767-300, which is right up the 787's market. The 747-800 will largely be successful because the 747 family line is already a huge success. The 748 is simply an extension of that. As older 747-400 aircraft become obsolete over the next decade, one could expect several airlines to replace their 747-400 fleet with the 747-800. The A380, however, is in a league of its own. After all, it is a "super jumbo". While comparable to the 747-800 in carrying capacity, think of it like this -- if an airline already has a fleet of 747-400 aircraft, and are interested in an upgrade, they'll certainly choose the 748 due to crew commonality (same type rating). The A350 is an interesting aircraft and already has accumulated orders en mass; however it's already a few years behind. The 787 is nearing its delivery date to the airlines while production is slowly coming together on the A350. I think the A350 will be a popular aircraft and popular for the same reason the 747-800 will be; commonality. A330/A340 operators will go with the A350, while the 757/767 operators will choose the 787.

3) There is potential third manufacturer trying to make their debut in China. Identify the name of this company as well as the aircraft that they are currently developing.

I believe this is referencing COMAC (The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China [the ARJ-21]). It's being lead by the ACAC consortium, which is a group of aviation companies in China. This aircraft has already been developed, however, and flew its first flight on November 28th, 2008. There's another aircraft company in China called the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, whom are developing a 168-seat based "C919" aircraft, due to enter service in 2016 -- Chinese C919

Though, don't forget about Mitsubishi jet, which is already under development in Japan, and has 50 orders from Trans States Airlines (US company). Maiden flight is scheduled for 2012 for the MRJ70/MRJ90 aircraft. Japan's quite a ways ahead of China.

-- Trans States Holdings Orders 50 Firm Regional Jets; Options for 50 More

4) Do you feel that the company you identified in #3 will ever be a direct competitor with Boeing and Airbus? Why or why not?

China has a problem with manufacturing poor quality products and a counterfeiting dilemma. Counterfeiting in China is more less a hobby it seems, than illegal. The only reason COMAC has designed the ARJ-21 is because it's a DC9/MD80-90 based aircraft. The problem is that McDonnell Douglas (before they were purchased by Boeing) began manufacturing their MD-90's in China. It's no coincidence that the ARJ-21 looks VERY much like a DC-9 derivative. The Chinese (like any foreign nation wanting to get in on a lucrative manufacturing market) reverse engineer many of the aircraft (and products) that are designed in the country. The Boeing 707 was reverse-engineered by the Chinese. The Chinese later developed an eerily similar looking aircraft to the Boeing 707 called the "Shanghai Y-10" (yes, this is a real aircraft). It seems as if every time China gets their hands on a successful aircraft, be it Airbus, Canadair, Boeing, or whomever, an eerily similar looking aircraft is manufactured by a Chinese aviation firm. Nonetheless, the only way China could directly compete with Boeing and Airbus is if they offer extremely low prices (i.e. -- half off). Even then so, I doubt they'd be able to compete. The US has never supported communist-based aircraft manufacturing firms. Take a look at how many airlines in the USA operate Russian-built aircraft; none. Russia hasn't done well in keeping up with the technological advancements Airbus and Boeing have reached. Moreover, so long as we don't start manufacturing the 787 in China (for reverse-engineering reasons), I don't think we'll have to worry about China catching up anytime soon.