Airliners.net Civil Aviation: Things Do Change In Four Years: A346 Vs 773ER

Airliners.net Civil Aviation: Things Do Change In Four Years: A346 Vs 773ER: "Oh boy, now you are really in dangerous territory. More pax with more range is highly debatable and probably downright wrong(unless you believe Airbus' figures which are as biased as Boeing's). Look at 773ER/346 existing operators and their seating configurations, and you will likely see a big capacity advantage for the 773ER. The lack of width in the 330/340 cabin is causing problems for premium class layouts at some carriers. For example, QF can't use the 747 skybed in the A330s and a narrower modified seat has to be used. No such problems with the 777 cabin. Of course the 346 is slower, burns significantly more fuel, has a much lower dispatch rate and is maintenance-wise more expensive.
I disagree completely with your statement that the FI article was basically positive. It was fairly guarded IMO, didn't get to the crux of the airlines woes with the 345/346 and left me with a bit of doubt as to what the airlines actually think of them. It also didn't pursue the fact that more than one airline has sought and received compensation from Airbus due to their dissatisfaction with the 345/346 family. The fact that they can't reached the promised dispatch reliability rate after 3 years in service is damning. The fact that EK is more than likely to dump their 346 order for 359/777 is even more damning."