European planemaker Airbus dominated the skies last week, even as business back on ground hit some turbulence. A crowd of some 30,000 gathered around Toulouse 's Blagnac airport to cheer on the successful maiden flight of the super-jumbo A380, the plane Airbus has spent €13.2 billion developing in a bid to eject Boeing's 747 as the reigning big bird of long-haul air transport. Airbus predicts a 5% annual growth in passenger volume over the next 20 years, which is one reason for the A380's larger capacity of 555-840 seats, versus the 747's 416-524...
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