Market Presence. When comparing the B747-200B and A380, the chasm in terms of technology becomes all too evident. The three person flight deck; clockwork instrumentation; 1950s vintage structure (the B747 fuselage is a derivative of the B707); comparatively basic interior (though carriers Virgin spent millions on presenting the most modern of interiors for the –200B only for the aircraft to be sold to Transaero within a relatively few short years); and ageing systems all clearly define the advances made over the last 30-35 years. As the MTOW of the aircraft increased, the operational flexibility also improved by a considerable amount. The principal limitation still lay in serving long haul routes between the Far East and Europe and indeed those to and from the Far East to the U.S.
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