Other points raised from the press conferance.
i
nterior wider than a 747 (apparantly)
– big bins
– 9 or 8 accross
– range from Paris – anywhere in N or S America, Africa, Singapore + SE Asia
– Rolls Royce is the launch engine.
– Engines have common core accross all versions

Looked at all sections of the plane and assessed what materials are best for each optimising weight, strength, and cost
– “shell” approach for fuse with 4 shells being attached together to make tubes of up to 16m long. Each shell can be made from material most suitable
– frames in Al, skin is CF
– 14% lighter per seat that 777 (787 is 12% lighter)
– 64m wing-span
– 3degrees extra sweep – allows higher speed (0.85Mach)
– Will have bleed-air
– A380 cockpit technology

Will be interesting to read Randy Baslers online blog on the Boeing website this month.
As he has been quite vocal about the A350 in the past months

The 777 thats being scrapped is one of the original “A” market model I.E. a non ER version, and powered by the GE90-76B, which i’m told that this combo is a rarity. And BA has only 5? remaining, all the rest being 777-200ER models powered by Rolls Royce

After 24263 hours and 5170 cycles with BA it was sold to Boeing in June 2002 and stored for several months as N703BA. In December 2002 it was prepared for entering service with Khalifa Airways.

i maybe wrong here…

But when planes fly at high altitude, that they are subject to radiation from the sun/moon/ozone etc etc???

Until the test on each aircraft proves it is that polonium (sp?) 210 then it would be safe to assume, that the tests carried out just picked up normal background radiation that is everywhere??

could somebody tell me what UFO stands for?

There was a rumour on Pprune, that GB airways on some flights are only operating 30-40% load capacity, which is quite low, and that a takeover from BA mainline was on the cards in the future

Great news for the A320/19 and EZY !!

And how Ryanair which offer even cheaper fares can be the most profitable Carrier around !!

probably because:

Low fixed cost base
Minimal staff in head office, not swamped with Senior VP’s etc
99% of bookings taken via the internet, so no big expensive call centers
Minimal staff or agents on ground, no need for offices abroad.
watertight contracts with suppliers guarenteeing fixed costs over a certain specified time.
Those extra charges on tickets, soon add up (Ryanairs “wheelchair” tax added another £100million to the profit margins)
Everything onboard not nailed down or vital to aircraft is sold at premium prices.
Higher aircraft utilisation, on average Easyjet planes spend 18hrs in the air, compared to 10-12 hours on legacy carriers, in the air more=more ££££

Just the basics on how they can offer low fares.