Photo retrieved from http://www.freewebs.com/jeffhead/f35/f-35c-03.jpg
Boeing is launching a new airliner, the 737-900 series, with a smaller bathroom. The article specifically notes that the restrooms are not uncomfortable and that only the unneeded spaces have been cut in order to add four seats behind each of the restrooms.
Although four to eight additional seats may not seem significant, in the eyes of a commercial airline, that’s some 2,500 passengers in a year for a single airplane making two international flights a day (4 seats x 2 trips x 350 days). In the eyes of a manufacturer like Boeing, that means millions of dollars per customer for the leasing of their aircraft.
Such a minute maneuver may have been warranted because of the turbulence Boeing has experienced with its Dreamliner. Perhaps in association with, and also warranting their recent competitiveness, is that Boeing has recently directly compared its military fighter jet, the F-18f Super Hornet, to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 JSF. Like Boeing’s Dreamliner, Lockheed has been struggling with their fighter jet.
In the second article, Boeing has offered contracts to one of Lockheed’s customers, Canada, boldly stating that it can directly compete with the “paper,” not combat official, aircraft.
Per the article, Boeing is offering the F-18 at a comparatively cheaper price than what has been contracted in the F-35 purchase. Unlike the F-35, the F-18 is also available NOW and is a true multi-role aircraft. The F-18 is fluent in air to air, air to ground, recon, and ferry (refueling) operations; proven in combat since 2010. New to my knowledge is the acclaimed “stealth” or low observation capabilities of the aircraft (perhaps radar absorbent materials which, by account of the F-117 Nighthawk, can be quite expensive to maintain).
Perhaps then, the technology war is more about being efficient, both in tactics and cost, rather than having the most expensive and high-tech aircraft out there.
Jason Rosa: Flight Enthusiast 
