Sir - I read the article "The big question", referring to the Boeing 747 versus the Airbus A3XX (Flight International, 19-25 March, P29). The debate really should centre on the cost of acquisition and return on investment.
For example, a 747-400 on a Hong Kong-Europe flight may be full of low-yield tourists, even though the volume may be quite high, because on such a long flight with many choices of how to get there, a 3h connection wait in Kuala Lumpur, for example, is quite acceptable, which cuts the profit margin on a 747-400 quite thinly on some routes. This means that this expensive aircraft will fly straight into the turbulence of low yields on the routes for which it was designed.
Whatever evolves will do so if the market demands it, not by the political agenda which seems to guide Airbus Industrie.
DAVID CONNOLLY
Eurocontrol
Brussels, Belgium
Source: Flight International
