Taking flight

It looks as though I'm going to have to take a little trip soon. That means getting on an airplane. The actual flying (in the plane) is easy. It's that getting on part that's difficult. Last time I flew, we spent a pretty considerable part of the allotted flight time sitting at the gate. With apologies, but no explanation. Eventually, several people were taken off. No, not the Muslims sitting in the middle seats; the Buddhists sitting on the right side. Following their departure, there was considerable cleaning and disinfecting of the area. Apparently we are being protected from bird flu, as well as terrorists. They had already siezed my WMD (aka nail clippers) at the gate, so I was cleared to fly.
All this is by way of leading up to the big competition at this weeks air show in London. There are lots of nifty attack planes being demoed, sure, but the real money is in the contracts gleaned by major commercial aircraft competitors Boeing and Airbus. Or, rather, they would be competitors if they didn't need each other so much. Without Airbus, Boeing wouldn't be able to justify asking for special tax treatment and government subsidies to "help us compete". Similarly, Airbus can cite the specter of Boeing to seek help from various government organizations in Europe.
The big faceoff this year is between the new Boeing 7E7 "Dreamliner" and the Airbus A380 "Superjumbo". Or perhaps it's "Gargantua".
In this one, I think I'm going with Boeing.
Considering my most recent experience, mentioned above, I'm not at all certain that a Superjumbo, which is supposed to carry 550 or more people, can actually find enough travellers who can pass muster with the security folk to get away from the gate. I'm afraid the A380 is destined to spend more time at the terminal than in the air, waiting for clearance. Meanwhile, Boeing serendipitously decided to make the Dreamliner fuel efficient, like the VW Beetle, only sleeker. Considering the cost of a barrel of oil, that might be one of the great guesses of the century. Of course, it may be that the seekers after nail clippers, etc., will find more efficient ways to root out potential terrorists, and the Gargantua will be able to take to the skies in a reasonable time.
We'll see.
Meantime, I prefer to walk, wherever it's feasible.