Airbus Talked, Perhaps Too Much; Boeing Listened

Airbus has often said that Boeing's wonderful 777 contains a lot of "wasted space," a criticism that has had the Chicago spin team hard at work. Apparently, after hearing about this long enough, Boeing decided to address the competition directly -- by actually changing the aircraft, and thus taking away some of Airbus's thunder.

It's a good thing, when a company improves a product, whether that is the result of outside competition, or internal revelation. Outsiders, of course, have it in their best interests to find shortcomings; it is often difficult for insiders to point those out (and keep their jobs). So, the Airbus harangue -- that the triple-seven contained too much wasted space -- has now been turned into a Boeing plus, as the 777s are now becoming available, with less empty space, and new crew rest quarters.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is showing a graphic from Boeing (above), that shows just how the overhead space in the center of the cabin will be used by at least one airline (Japan Airlines has a 777-200ER in final assembly, for May delivery, says SPI's James Wallace); other long-haul carriers will no doubt soon avail themselves of the convenience of real bunks for crew. KLM has already ordered 777-200ERs with the overhead bunk option.

Wallace reports that Boeing has 54 firm orders for its 777-300ER and five for the 777-200LR, each of which can accommodate the crew quarters; and he says that all 54 will be taking the option.

The Post-Intelligencer quotes Doug Ackerman, Boeing's deputy engineering leader for the space utilization project, as being  perhaps appreciative of Airbus's relentless sales force: "Airbus always said we had so much wasted space on the 777... we took that to heart and decided to do something about it."

Boeing's Debbie Heathers told ANN about the bunks: "They're 81 inches long, and plenty wide -- they're like a twin bed -- you can rest on them; you could read on them -- they're very comfortable."

An edge for premium airlines?

If these bunks catch on, will it be long before such amenities will be expanded, and offered to VIP First-class travelers, perhaps allowing an advantage the premium airlines will have, that low-fare airlines simply can't counter? That question got a laugh from the assembled marketing folks at Boeing. It's always the way, with innovation: as soon as you have something new, somebody's asking about what you don't have. At any rate, ANN got a commitment from Boeing, to see if it's a feasible idea. [If they do it, then we'll ask about showers --ed.]

FMI: www.boeing.com