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Originally Posted by Mike W
Thanks for your take Owen. I keep thinking about the 330 in WA that lost altitude. That doesn't mean this sort of stuff doesn't happen to Boeings, I just can't recall anything major (aside from the oxy bottled 744 recently - not sure that was the plane's fault) I guess we can expect the same thing with the 787s then.
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If you say it was the oxy bottle's fault and not the 744, then you can draw the same parallel with the A333 and its AIRDU issues. Plus an MH 772 had a similar AIDRU issue a few years ago.
Anecdotal evidence suggests some of QF's early A330's had some issues, hence the 'Hyundai' nickname by (admittedly, then Boeing-centric) QF engineers, but I've heard the more recent aircraft are much better.
I'm not sure the 380 has had that many issues...SQ says itsr 380 intro was the smoothest of any new aircraft in its history. If you've only got a fleet of half a dozen or less or 380s, one or two going u/s at any one time is going to have a major impact on ops as you just don't have the capacity and responsiveness to recover - look at Jetstar Int'l in its early days when it only had 2-3 A330s!
Also, often in the early days of a new fleet u/s reasons can be attributed more to caution rather than reality, as operators learn more about the aircraft.