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Like Coke and Pepsi, McDonald's and Burger King, or Star Jones and Rosie O'Donnell, Airbus (+126%) and Boeing (+71%) are locked forever in a furious rivalry. This past week, the arch foes' cross-Atlantic cold war took a new turn, causing jumbo amounts of buzz to take to the skies.
Airbus has been flying high with the promise of its ballyhooed A380 superjumbo jet. The double-decker aircraft, which could seat up to 840 travelers, would be the world's largest passenger plane. And searchers were ready to board: Buzz on the plane has been on the rise, while "a380 pictures" and "a380 materials" have reached cruising altitudes.
But another popular search was ignited by a troublesome flaw: "a380 problems." Last Wednesday, Airbus again postponed the monster jet's debut—and pissed off Singapore Airlines, which has the largest outstanding order for the plane. The airline retaliated by placing a $4.54 billion order with competitor Boeing for its 787-9 Dreamliner jet.
Buzz on the Dreamliner immediately took off, and "boeing 787" soared a whopping 708% in Search. Now look who's flying the hostile skies. Will Airbus strike back? The company might have smirked at rumors of a 787 glitch, but a suspicious stock sale by a high-ranking exec is surely keeping it busy at the moment.
Tiny Plane Buzz Soars
If you're one of those people who mutter about SUVs clogging the road, don't read on -- or look up. Your worst nightmare may be cruising overhead sometime soon.
If New Mexico-based Eclipse Aviation has its way, thousands of SUVs with wings, or "microjets," may soon be zipping back and forth at 30,000 feet. Also called very light jets (VLJs), these minuscule planes seat five or six people, run on two engines, and can be manufactured at a fraction of the standard plane's price. Is that a bird? A plane? No, it's a Lexus!
On Monday, Eclipse broke ground on a new assembly plant, and buzz took to the skies. We logged search spikes on "microjet," "very light jets," "e500 jet," and "eclipse aviation." Enterprising types boosted "eclipse aviation stock symbol," and queries on "adam aircraft," another manufacturer, took off.
Concern over airspace congestion has the FAA and many pilots bristling. On the other hand, NASA backs the technology, and some analysts have gushed about the future of "air taxi" fleets. But before you start imagining yourself flying off to work like George Jetson, keep your eye on the road and that gas-guzzler ahead of you.