So Boeing built a bigger 777 to be able to compete with the Airbus 380, but Airbus fails because it is too big?
http://www.traveller.com.au/boeing-p...us-a380-gpwg8b
The A380 is not a failure, but indeed selling numbers did not live up to expectations. Happens everywhere. Boeing will soon see what that means for their series.
Two engines need less fuel, of course. Airbus decided to go the safer way by using four engines for trans-ocean flights. Good luck to a two-engined 777 losing an engine over the Pacific. Cost effectiveness always has to beat security, according to those golden economic laws. Like the
"Herald of Free Enterprise" [sic!] sinking, due to personnell cost savings and technical obsolescence.
As i said before the problem are the 380's wings, designed for a bigger plane. Used on the "normal" 380s they are relatively too big, with a larger pass surface inducing more resistance, thus increasing the fuel consumption and higher maintenance costs. Had they constructed an adapted second smaller wing for this initial smaller type of cell, consumption would be better but construction costs would have skyrocketed. You could say Airbus was not able to compete with Boeing's financial backing.
As it is now american companies are heavily supported by the state, intended to push all others out of the market (read: hegemony everywhere. MAGA). Just like they do in China with the upcoming COMAC airliner company.
Airbus is not a bad company at all, but imh
o US producers still have a technological advantage and better feel of things. Most of today's systems have been invented there, and while others are catching up, the US still has an edge.
After all especially in the aircraft industry, economic decisions are one side, but safety and backup systems are another (and more important than in other branches of technical production). Boeing and Airbus are competitors of course, and their fights, accusations and court meetings have cost them more than several of their aircraft.
Additionally, an aircraft producer designs and builds the body (cell) of the plane and designs the wings profiles, while most other systems like avionics, engines and (if at all) redundancy systems can be chosen freely by the purchaser, from other companies. And while the aircraft cell producers can give recommendations, there is no obligation for the purchaser to follow it. Economical concerns against technics and safety.
And don't get me started about the selling of information and whole wing profiles to China, by US companies.