Status of the An 225

[Wingo]

Trojan Rabbit, the second point you made is the most far-fetched thing I have ever heard. The market DOES want jumbos - the bigger (A380) the more people it can carry in one flight, and the faster the money rolls in. They don't want a crappy little Dreamliner taking only a few hundred people across nations at one time - more flights would then have to be made, meaning they will LOSE money (more flights = pilots with higher paychecks).

Also, the Antonov An-325, would not be a jumbo. It would be a CARGO carrier, and the market would love that, as it means they can carry more cargo in one flight.

In the end...your logic simply does not work.

Actually, you can't compare the A380 to the 787, each are in a different market and have different uses. the A380 is designed for long distance, high capacity flights, e.g. Syd - Lon. The 787 is more or less a replacement for the 767 and competitor to the A330. It is designed for slightly shorter international routes at a more economical price. Used correctly the 787 will be cheaper than the A380 on certain trips.

[bok269]

Trojan Rabbit, the second point you made is the most far-fetched thing I have ever heard. The market DOES want jumbos - the bigger (A380) the more people it can carry in one flight, and the faster the money rolls in. They don't want a crappy little Dreamliner taking only a few hundred people across nations at one time - more flights would then have to be made, meaning they will LOSE money (more flights = pilots with higher paychecks).

Actually the opposite is holding true.  Airlines want to offer higher frequency vs. capacity per flight.  Paying more pilots is little incentive against it.  This is the reason that the 747 hasn't been used in US domestic Ops in a long time.  Even in Japan, where the 747 has been popular for a long time on domestic flights, NH has decided that htey want to fly higher frequency domestic flights with the 777, 767, and soon the 787, than with the 744D.  The carriers only see demand for jumbos where they can offer multiple flights on a particular route per day, and fill 500 seats at the same time.  This is exactly why there are 600+ orders for the Dreamliner and only about 200 for the A380.

Also, smaller planes offer greater flexibility.  Where a Jumbo can only operate into certain airports and can only be economical with many seats filled, midsize planes like the 787 offer lower break even points, and the ability to serve on a variety of routes.