1,000-passenger airplanes? Really?
Airbus, it seems, is seriously contemplating the development of a 1,000-passenger airplane. This monster plane would be a stretch version of the Airbus 380 that seats 550 to 853 depending on the configuration.
Airbus SAS is considering an extended 1,000-passenger version of the A380 aircraft, Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus’s parent company, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV, said in an interview to be published Friday, 29 August.
The airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM SA, were both interested in the extended version of the A380, Gallois said in Dresden.
These reports, apparently serious, bring up memories of the two-year-old reports, apparently bogus, about Boeing planning their Blended Wing 1,000-pax plane.
But, hey, the ginned-up photos of the bogus plane were impressive. I’m expecting the stretch version of the A-380 to look just about the same as the current model.
With an airline industry and international airport infrastructure system that are struggling to handle the influx of the A-380, these plans for even bigger planes can make one’s head spin. Fortunately, the Airbus timetable for the decisions on these new planes means no decisions will be made before 2010.
Just for the record, according to press reports I have seen, Boeing is actually working on a Blended Wing aircraft design for the military. However, there are currently no plans for a passenger version.
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The problem of a Blended Wing aircraft design for passenger is how much G you can take when it turns. Normal passengers will not like being seated far from the axis of the airplane. Each time it turns it will be like being on a rollercoaster.
Think it’s bad being in the middle of a block of four economy seats? How many seats would there be in each block in the back of the plane. I imagine airlines would still want a twin aisle, you could end up with ten passengers in a block, imagine that! Eeek.
Two words———————-> TERROR TARGET.