Aircraft

A Boeing suggestion that passengers find Airbus cabins too quiet has met with a predictably scornful response from its rival. The debate was kicked off earlier this month when Boeing vice president marketing Randy Tinseth made the claim in his “Randy’s Journal” blog.

Under the heading “sound of silence” he wrote: “For instance, even though the Airbus A340 has lower sound pressure levels, the Boeing 777 rates “quieter” in studies. So what’s going on?”

He went on to argue that the quietness of the cabin in the A380, which has been widely commented on by people who have flown on it, could cause a form of noise fatigue as well as leading to eavesdropping.

But Airbus chief operating officer – passengers, John Leahy, yesterday delivered a withering response to Tinseth’s argument, calling it “embarrassing”.

He told journalists at the Asian Aerospace show: “Boeing is clutching at straws. There is no such thing as an aircraft that is too quiet. If Boeing says that, because they don’t have an aircraft that competes, then I think it is frankly embarrassing that they even said that.”