How should Boeing respond to the competitve threat of the airbus a380?

Answer 1

By doing what they're doing: improving the 747 and introducing the 787 for smaller passenger loads.

People can talk all they want about how the A380 is going to kill Boeing all by itself; I don't see it. That plane makes sense if you're trying to get 500 to 800 passengers between two specific airports. If you wanted to fly 1000 people from Atlanta to Chicago, you could do it in two trips of the A380, or four trips of a Boeing 767. No-brainer, right? Use the A380. I wouldn't for a couple of reasons--it's expensive enough you would only have one, so every time the plane needs maintenance you have to fiddle with the schedule. Also, by flying loads of 250 people at a time you can let people have more options as to when they fly.


There's another problem with the A380 no one's discussing yet: Infrastructure past the flightline. Five hundred passengers--800 if you're flying an all-economy plane--means at least 500 bags, more parking, bigger rental car lots, more restaurants...and don't forget TSA checkpoints. The fact most places don't have enough airport for this plane means it will have somewhat limited impact. It's the kind of plane you want for overseas trips. It's NOT the kind of plane you want to get people from LAX to SeaTac.