Boeing's biggest jet takes flight, promises lowest 'seat mile' cost...

My reflex reaction to this article -- aside from commenting on Boeing's awesome new HN-themed color scheme -- is that the new Airbus A380-800 now has a genuine competitor at last.

Thing is though -- engineering marvels of these flying wonders aside -- the demand for high-pax airborne people haulers has been rapidly shrinking in recent years. Especially with new ETOPS-certified smaller, narrow-body, 2-engine aircraft, the demand for such massive capacity aircraft simply isn't what it used to be. There are already a few flights across the Atlantic using 757s, and you can be sure to see more in the next 5-10 years using ETOPs 737 and A32X aircraft.

To wit, the 747-8 has sold nowhere near expected projections, while the now comically-delayed 787 has broken all sales records in industry history, pre-order or otherwise.