Howdy,

Ultimately it is up to the airlines. If you are familiar with the DC8 and 707, the Dash 80 originally was configured for five seats wide. The DC8 was configured for six. Pan Am ordered (I think) 25 DC8’s and approximately 20 (or so) 707’s; this was a shock to Boeing. United also went for the DC8 because of the width. It was American Airlines that forced Boeing to see the light and increase the width. The 707 was approximately one inch wider in the end than the DC8. The Width of the Coronodo damaged this aircraft too (not to mention problems with performance). Ultimately it’s the airlines who make this decision by buying the aircraft.

Bkonner

Backups

Howdy,

I am a network administrator. I do this for a living. All medium degrades. Backup devices include tapes (many types), external drives, and DVD/CD ROMS. Never backup data to a device connected to your computer. Never backup a device connected to the same power supply because of a potential power surge. Backing up to a DVD ROM is the best bet. you must check the backup every so often to make sure it has not degraded.

Bkonner

Boys,

Read the article! FT USA’s edition had the article. The French ambassador said, and I quote (from the article): “…However, the French ambassador has already said he was misquoted and I hope the matter ends here.”

I am sure the US government pressured Air India and the Indian government. I am also certain that the EU pressured Air India and the Indian government.

Bkonner

Southwest does the same thing in the US. For example, they market Providence and Manchester as Boston. They advertise on TV in Boston all the time, even though both airports are an hour away. Because I live downtown in Boston, Southwest is not an option, but for the greater metropolitan area, it certainly is. I am certain that’s what Ryan is doing in Brussels, Frankfurt, and elsewhere. Hey it works for Southwest! I just wish they would come to Logan!

Bkonner

Howdy,

Ok, I’m confused! I thought the EU was responsible for external agreements. For example, an EU court ruled two years ago (or so) that the individual open sky agreements between individual states and the US were illegal. So Brussels is now in (sort of) negotiations with the US. So how come the UK government is allowed to negotiate these rights with India? Could this end up in court?

Thanks!

Bkonner

Howdy,

As an American I was going to remark that the US federal government provides no subsidies to Boeing and that the state of Washington provided minimal subsidies. While the US government doesn’t, I guess the fact is that the state of Washington does. See the following URL:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/197093_subsidy28.html .

Apparently the state of Washington provided $ 3.2 billion (over 20 years) worth of “incentives” for Boeing to produce the 7E7 in Everett, WA. While this is less than what the EU give Airbus, it is substantial. In US state politics, this is aimed at keeping Boeing from moving jobs to other states. Most states, except mine (Massachusetts), do this; Massachusetts seems to do pretty well without supporting its local industry, which is mostly high-tech, bio-technology, mutual funds, medical, and education. You see this a lot in automobile production in the US and Canada by the provinces and states.

The EU certainly should take the state of Washington to court to eliminate these unfair subsidies. The US probably should do the same with the EU, France, Germany, and the UK. Both companies should compete in a level playing field. Since there is no competition except between the two with aircraft larger than the A318, there is no threat at the moment of production moving to another country. I would imagine that Brazil provides aid to Embraer in its production of the 170/175 & 190/195 development; but I do not know this as a fact (just an assumption).

Both companies are now mature and do not need state aid to compete against each other.

Just my opinon!

Bkonner

Howdy,

The objective of the EU is to end the balkinization of internation flights out of the EU. The goal would be particularly useful to strong carriers like BA, AF, and LH and bad for weak carriers like AZ and SAS.

EU carriers face a disadvantage when flying against foriegn carriers. Here is a good example. I live in Boston. I travel to the EU a great deal for vacations. If I decide to go to LHR and CDG I could fly non stop on AA to both cities each way. If I travel on BA or AF, I must make a connection on one of the legs. If the air fare is the same I will always fly on AA. If I live in NRT and travel to FRA and LHR, the same applies.

I do think there are additional objectives that the EU is trying to achieve. But the fact is, EU carriers are harmed with the current agreements between individual EU states and other countries. This would be a win-win for EU carriers. I certainly could see Virigin Atlantic taking advantage of any changes made between the EU and other countries, particularly with air travel to the US. Carriers like BA and LH must get out of the mentality that they are a German carrier going only to Germany and a British carrier going only to the UK. Carriers in the EU should only fly routes that provide a good economic return for their stock holders. The day of the flag-ship carrier is over, as it should be, at least in the EU.

Bkonner