Originally Posted by Boofer
Good luck to them. I just don't see it happening. I think the 7E7 is going to be much more successful in the long term, but not a grand slam either. The airlines just don't have that much capital to invest.
They will easily sell that many, even if the majority are freight. As 747s get older and more expensive to maintain (and fuel), freight companies will replace them with the A380 since Boeing decided not to compete. Additionally, as the Chinese middle class grows, there will be a large Chinese market for this plane. Finally, there is only so much traffic major airports can handle. With landing and gate slots at a premium in large markets, airlines will want large planes for heavily traveled routes. The 787 just isn't big enough for LAX-SYD, HKG-LHR, SIN-LHR, etc.