Originally Posted by
freezingflyboy
Erm...they have. Perhaps you've seen these aircraft at your local airport...
B737-200/500 - 108-115 seats
A319 - 124 seats
DC-9-30 - 105-115 seats
The problem is that Airbus and Boeing haven't developed anything new in this market segment in 30 years. Its kind of the Honda Civic/Toyota Corolla segment of the industry. They sell tons of em, just don't make much money off em so why waste R&D dollars coming up with something new when your old, reliable models are still flying off the shelves.
No, they haven't. Compare the price + fuel efficiency of a Boeing/Airbus to a E-190/195. It's like comparing a quality vehicle to a Kia and saying they're the same because they have the same seating capacity. Do you really think you're going to see Embraers lasting as long as DC-9s have? Lets not kid ourselves. These smaller aircraft manufacturers like Bombardier/Embraer make "throw-away planes". Cheap to buy, cheap to fly, and about as reliable as a junk yard korean car.