An arms race may be defined as an escalating competition between two nations in
order to achieve military supremacy. Both sides deliberately attempt to out-produce
the other in terms of larger armies and more firepower. As we experienced during
the Cold War, the result of an arms race is a ridiculous excess of capability. The
writer Carl Sagan had a nice way of putting it. He said that it was just like ‘two men
standing waist-deep in gasoline; one with three matches and one with five’. There
are no two ways about it; airlines have engaged in an arms race in the cabin in order
to stay ahead of the game.