Continental Airlines chief executive Gordon Bethune has hit out at Airbus Industrie over its advertising campaign promoting the safety of four-engined aircraft versus twins on Pacific routes.
In a letter to Airbus managing director Noel Forgeard, Bethune accuses Airbus of exploiting "the unfounded fears of the travelling public on the four-engine versus two-engine safety issue".
Bethune's rebuke is the latest twist in the war of words between Airbus and Boeing over the extension of extended-range twin operations (ETOPS) on the Pacific, which is backed by Boeing.
The US Federal Aviation Administration is expected to extend ETOPS approval for the 777-200ER to 207min within the next few weeks.
Airbus points out that it was a pioneer of ETOPS and says the advert was placed in good faith.
Bethune, who is an ex-Boeing executive, urges Airbus to drop its campaign, saying the debate "should remain within an audience informed on the merits - not the unfounded fears of millions of passengers who safely fly every day on reliable twin-engine aircraft".
Continental is introducing 777s on new, long range ETOPS routes and will likely be a candidate for future extended transpacific ETOPS.
Source: Flight International
