Subject:
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Re: How big is to big?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Sun, 16 Jul 2000 23:06:35 GMT
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Viewed:
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234 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Erin Windross writes:
> inspired Airbus to consider building a new plane that's even bigger than
> Boeing's jumbo jet, the 747. The super-jumbo A3XX would seat up to 555
> passengers, a third again as many as the 747.
Cool!
> Chris Bowers of United sass "It makes no sense to build an airplane
> with 600 passengers...We do think we can have bigger aircraft...in
> limited quantities."
I snipped this a bit, but I think this pseudo-quote is true to the intent. So,
he's saying they're stupid and that they'll be buying some in the same breath,
right? What's wrong with this picture?
> Richard Branson, chairman of London-based Virgin Atlantic Airways, says it's
> not quantity but quality that counts. "We pamper our passengers like no
> airline pampers them."
Cool, so they can buy these new big whoppers and give me a little extra space
(like 27 cubic meters).
> "We're introducing separate rooms with double beds in all of our planes so
> people can actually go with their partner and have a proper night's sleep."
I bet those tickets are cheap!
> Virgin planes have personal video monitors at every seat, a standup bar,
> manicures and massages. And there's more to come, Branson says.
Wow. Can you get...nevermind.
> How big is to big?
I expect there is a fuel-economy point of diminishing returns and the engineers
and the market will determine where it is.
> Sure I realize that many people need to get from point a to
> point b, but what happens when so many of them are cramped into one airplane?
Um...the airlines systems can shuttle them about much more efficiently? Is
that a trick question?
> Picture yourself on the A3XX,
In my private bedroom getting a massage...yeah, I'm with you so far.
> flying at a safe altitude,
That would be ideal...but hell, staying on the runway wouldn't be too bad.
> all of a sudden a
> bomb goes off in the lugage compartment, and this two deck airliner comes
> crashing to the ground bringing more than 700 people to their deaths.
Doh! Wait...were there people in stowage? I thought they said it would carry
~600. Surely there aren't 100+ crew for this beast...well maybe if you count
all the pedicurists and such.
> It would probably be the worst disaster in history!
Uh...what do you call a disaster? I think the holocaust has it beat. But even
if that's not the kind of thing you mean, I think there are lots of volcano
blasts, earthquakes, fires, floods, famines, etc. that have been worse. 6-700
folks just isn't that big a deal.
> Now that plane, ship, train, and auto makers keep making things larger with
> more capcity, there is more room for something to go wrong.
There is? I think that an assertion that, as systems become more complex and
internally dependent they become more vulnerable would be much easier to
defend. For instance, do you believe that the Great Wall in China is more
prone to something going wrong than a smallish garden wall?
> Would you feel safe on a two deck airplane that carries the most
> passengers in the world?
As safe as any other plane, once it had proved itself. Which is to say, "yeah,
pretty darned safe indeed." And I could sit tight knowing that if we go down,
I die with lots of others. And actually, as the number of passengers
increases, the chance of the roster including critical people should something
go wrong goes up.
> I wouldn't...
Why not?
Chris
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: How big is to big?
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| (...) So, (...) He's a corporate flack? :-) Seriously, bigger planes do mean some changes required at the gates to load/unload but also, since the number of slots is fixed unless you build more runways and since runways cost a lot more to build than (...) (24 years ago, 17-Jul-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | How big is to big?
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| (exert taken from CNN article) "(CNN) -- The challenge for the travel industry in the next century is to accommodate an anticipated boom in tourism and commuting -- and to do so in style. Specialists say to expect bigger planes, larger ships, faster (...) (24 years ago, 16-Jul-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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