The future, according to Boeing and Airbus

Calling all marketers: which future vision of the airline business do you think will become reality? Airbus and Boeing disagree on what airlines and passengers will want in the coming years--and I sure hope Boeing has it right.

Airbus thinks I'll want to be one of 500 (maybe even 800!) passengers squeezed onto a gigantic super-jet, flying from one hub-city bottleneck to another before finally boarding a regional jet to my actual destination.

Boeing believes the market is moving toward smaller, lighter jets for long-distance point-to-point flights. These planes won't be tiny by any means; I suspect I'll be with some 300 other passengers but at least I'm less likely to be flying from New York to Atlanta with a stop or so in, say, Detroit or Chicago.

Clearly fuel efficiency plays a major role in which jets an airline decides to buy. Boeing seems to have thought of that, too, by using more lightweight composite materials.

What does this have to do with marketing? When writing a marketing plan, it's important to keep the customer experience in mind. And on customer experience alone, the winner is . . . Boeing. I don't know about you, but I'd even pay a bit more to bypass those crowded hubs and fly non-stop to my destination, if Boeing's vision becomes reality.

Here's what the BBC News says about Boeing vs. Airbus:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5004380.stm

As a customer, would you want to live Boeing's or Airbus's vision of the future? If you were writing or approving a marketing plan, which would you include? Please let me know!