Shameel
I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Both Airbus and Boeing advertise to the travelling public in the hope of building up a profile amongst the high yielding frequent traveller who does know an A320 from a 777-300ER.
Although fuel burn and dispatch rates and operating costs are obviously taken into account when purchasing an airliner, the frequent traveller these days is far more educated as to what he or she flies on, and thus he or she wields a lot of influence with airlines as well.
Re the manufacturers advertising in magazines (such as ours), there is probably two reasons why they do it. The first is to keep their products in front of airline decision makers, especially when an airline has a new aircraft or replacement aircraft campaign underway. But I also suspect they spread the advertising 'love' around a little because most have an interest in supporting a viable aviation media.
The painting of an aircraft in Dreamliner colours though is a curious one for me - unless you're a tragic spotter, how often does a passenger actually see and take notice of the exterior of the aircraft they travel on?
Cheers
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