Twice in the last 6 months I've had QF180 NRT-MEL cancelled on me due to technical failure. These antique B767s are the oldest in the QF fleet - heading for 18 years old. Two pilots (one QF, one an Aussie flying for a domestic Japanese carrier) have told me 'no suprise' as this is stretching the plane to its limit. I fly J class (15 times to Japan last year I think), and it is amazing that on this business-focused route there is no in-seat power (I lug my own spare batteries), and no sleeper bed. Only reason is that there is zero competition on this route so QF screws us for big airfares and no service (literally, when the planes break down!). So I would love to see A330s back on the NRT run (we had them for a couple of months in early 2005, but they disappeared off to Beijing and Shanghai, where there is competition.)
Bit hard to compare geriatric B767s with modern A330s. But, in general, if the plane is used on the right sort of mission, I think Boeing still has the edge for new'ish aircraft. For example:
Consider the Dreamliner 787 - it has a lower altitude cabin airpressure, making the flight more comfortable. OK, that may increase the pressure on the hull for more wear and tear, but that's QFs problem.
I was stuck in JFK on the famous 'flight from hell' in February on QF108. Part of the delay was due to an A340 (Turkish) which had performed a 180 degree spinning skid on landing, bogging itself and blocking the second last available runway. Our QF captain pitied his Turkish counterpart, explaining that the fly-by-wire Airbuses give zero feel through the stick for the last few meters of descent, making it much easier to 'lose it' than on direct cable Boeings. In a blizzard, this makes a big difference - as the dizzy Turkish passengers discovered.
