Forgeard: Long-distance jet has shortcomings

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Oh my heck … I thought that howling sound yesterday was the wind whipping across the 520 bridge, but no, seems like it was hoots of derision echoing off the walls of Boeing’s Everett factory …

Key Quote: “Noel Forgeard said Airbus could keep the long-distance (A340) as a niche aircraft but acknowledged its four-engine design, unpopular with airlines except for those flying polar routes, was a ‘shortcoming.’”

That’s according to the Daily Post in Conwy, Wales: http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk/business/businessnews/tm_objectid=16793679&method=full&siteid=50142&headline=airbus-jet-redesign-on-hold—name_page.html

In case you’re coming in cold — for years, Airbus has marketed the A340 as a superior alternative to Boeing’s 777 on long-distance routes, primarily because it has four engines. (I think the slogan was “4 engines 4 the long haul.”) It infuriated Boeing people, who thought that Airbus was insinuating there was a safety issue with twin-engine 777s on long-haul flights. But now Boeing may be getting the last laugh: Soaring fuel prices have soured airlines on the gas-guzzling A340 and Airbus execs now acknowledge they need to make changes to it.