Over the last few days, I've reported on the booming business for the Airbus. With Delta, U.S. Airways, and others replacing large orders, the once troubled airplane is back. Even more, the Airbus A380 along with the Boeing 787 Dreamline, are threating to change the face of aviation and commercial travel forever.

Half as high as the Statue of Liberty at the tip of its tail, and as long as three semi-tractor-trailers combined, the 600-ton Airbus A380 is set to surpass the venerable Boeing 747 as the world's largest passenger plane. The new superjumbo jet also represents a dramatic departure from the 747's iconic bubble-like double-decker design: It incorporates an upper deck that runs the entire length of the fuselage, yielding 50 percent more floor space. That extra room can be used to seat 525 occupants when the plane is configured in three classes-coach, business and first class-or it can pack up to 853 passengers if the plane is set up solely for economy class.
The airlines that are shelling out millions to add A380s to their fleets will shape the big birds' interiors in ways that best suit their needs, which usually means moving the highest number of people at the lowest cost possible. But it's the posh amenities available to first- and business-class clientele that have garnered the most attention thus far. The A380's upper deck, for example, can house everything from conference rooms to hair salons to shops. Virgin Atlantic Airways, which ordered six A380s but will not take delivery until 2013, initially announced plans to include casinos, double beds, showers and even a gymnasium on the big planes.

Boeing's next-generation 747-8 jumbo jet is scheduled to take to the skies sometime in late 2010 to compete with the Airbus A380 in the big-plane league. But it's the mid-size, wide-body 787 Dreamliner that represents the company's vision of the not-so-distant future of flight. Although not as imposing in sheer size as the Airbus A380, the 787 stands out as the first passenger plane to be made almost entirely of composite materials rather than metal, making it lighter, more fuel efficient and therefore better for the environment. And even without the A380's expansive split-level cabin layout, the 787 offers wider seats and aisles and lavatories large enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

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