T minus 11 months until China

[CubsFanJohn]

Is it safe to assume that US will take change it from a 3 Class to a 2 Class configuration.

 

[PHL]

Those swiss birds are nice, assuming US leaves the seats as is.

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.sear...ine_version=6.0

On another note, however, would the DOT have any recourse in this matter since the application specifically said they'd run the route with A340's and be able to seat many more people?

 

[ClueByFour]

Wrong the first planes will be made totally in France by Airbus, not in the US.

As you did not provide the URL, we can't really judge the correctness of your source. Here is a page from the manufacturer, Northrop Grumman:

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker program will create a new aerospace manufacturing corridor in the southeastern United States thereby broadening and strengthening the U.S. aerospace industry.
* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker will support more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs in the United States—a conservative estimate based upon the U.S. Department of Commerce aerospace industry jobs projection formula.
* Using more recent data from our suppliers and applying the Labor Department’s formula for projecting aerospace jobs at the state and regional level, the KC-45A will employ approximately 48,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide.
* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A U.S. supplier base includes 230 companies in 49 states.
Assembly and militarization of the Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker will take place in Mobile, Ala., resulting in the creation of 2,000 jobs.
* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker program does not transfer any jobs from the United States to France or any other foreign country.

Don't let the facts get in your way. I suppose you want us to believe that Northrop is lying (the KC-30 which you referenced, BTW, is not the aircraft that USAF is purchasing).

And Boeing never offered the 777 as a tanker, that would have been the 767 which two were delivered to other countries this past quarter.

Boeing should have. It would have been superior to the MRTT. It's also got more foreign content (by a lot) than the KC-45 will.

Keyword: Ultimately

It's things like this that make you look bad. EADS sells the platform to other countries today. Those, of course, are assembled in Europe. The actual KC-45, delivered to the USAF, will be (as mentioned in every news publication known to man), assembled and millitarized in Mobile. You won't come out of this looking less stupid by posting half-relevant links.

Don't get on a 777, 737NG, a 787, or in just about any "American" car if you care about where the bits came from. If you don't count Canada and Mexican NAFTA imported parts as "domestic" as the feds do, a Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have more "US" content than does a Ford Taurus or F-150.