in mid-1988 a group of airbus engineers led by jean roeder began working in secret on the development of an ultra-high-capacity airliner (uhca), both to complete its own range of products and to break the dominance that boeing had enjoyed in this market segment since the early 1970s with its 747. the project was announced at the 1990 farnborough air show, with the stated goal of 15% lower operating costs than the 747-400. airbus organised four teams of designers, one from each of its partners (aérospatiale, daimlerchrysler aerospace, british aerospace, casa) to propose new technologies for its future aircraft designs. in june 1994 airbus began developing its own very large airliner, then designated as a3xx. airbus considered several designs, including an odd side-by-side combination of two fuselages from the airbus a340, which was airbus's largest jet at the time. airbus refined its design, targeting a 15% to 20% reduction in operating costs over the existing boeing 747–400. the a3xx design converged on a double-decker layout that provided more passenger volume than a traditional single-deck design.