Originally posted by sigma:
Airlines didn't cancel the Concorde because they and passengers didn't want it, they cancelled the Concorde orders because the Oil Crisis made the price of jet fuel increase exponentially. It no longer made economic sense to use them. On the other hand, the economics behind the A380 become more and more apparent everyday which is why orders are still coming in.
I saw a documentary on the concorde a few weeks ago and they said the leading cause of its failure was the fact that it could only be flown into a very small number of aiports because of the noise. Yes, it did have high (comparibly) operating and maintaince costs, because it was WAY ahead of it's time.
I don't think huge planes are going to be all that popular in the future, people don't want to drive to one of the huge airports than can accomidate these things and spend the large amount of time loading and unloading everything (people and luggage), even if they use multiple jetways. The only real advantage of jumbo jets, IMO, is range. You can't fly a 737 halfway around the world without refueling, but these things can.
That airbus is pretty damn ugly for an airliner if you ask me. I am somewhat suprised that nobody commented on it being made by the French. 
"Bros before Hoes" <-- More men need this mentality.
| 
