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Boeing sees stretch 747 deliveries starting in 2008
Sun Jun 12, 2005 02:55 PM ET
By Christian Plumb PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) could start delivering a stretch version of its jumbo 747 in 2008, the planemaker's head of commercial aircraft said on Sunday in the latest sign the company will approve the new plane model.
"We're getting very good interest in the Advanced (7)47," Alan Mulally said at an upbeat press briefing a day before the opening of the Paris Air Show, the aerospace industry's top showcase.
The 747 Advanced would be Boeing's closest competitor to archrival Airbus's (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) flagship double-decker A380 plane -- a star debutante at the display of civilian and military planes at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital.
"We would probably deliver around 2008," he said. "It's really paced by the engine on the (7)87."
Mulally also said he agreed with comments made by Boeing Chairman Lew Platt in an interview with the Independent on Sunday newspaper that the program is gaining "momentum." Platt was quoted as saying a decision could be made on producing the modified 747 at an upcoming board meeting, which Mulally confirmed was scheduled for late June.
Chicago-based Boeing has declined to take on the superjumbo head-on, claiming that the potential market for the 555-seat plane would not justify the amount of investment needed to build a plane that big.
Instead, it will redesign the 30-year-old jet to run on the quieter, more economical engines under development for its smaller 787 Dreamliner, a change that would require little capital expenditure, he said.
'MUCH LOWER RISK'
"It's so much more modest compared with making a new, bigger airplane," he said, adding that the plane would carry about 50 more passengers than the current largest 747, and another 15 tons of cargo. "It's mainly engine change and some work on the wing.
Boeing expects the latest version of its venerable 747 -- still the largest passenger jet in service -- to capture 400 to 500 orders over a 20-year period, Mulally said, taking a swipe at the A380.
"People really appreciate that the A380 is really, really big, it's really big," he said. The 747 Advanced "is so much lower risk than an A380."
Mulally's was the latest recent Boeing presentation highlighting the recovery in the world aircraft market.
"It's going really, really well. You can see an interest in orders across all the airplane models."
The top U.S. planemaker last week forecast that the world passenger jet market would amount to $2.1 trillion over the next 20 years, led by mid-sized planes like the 787.
In addition to 266 orders and commitments for the plane, which aims to cut fuel and other operating costs by about one-fifth over similar models by using composite materials, Boeing has 427 sale proposals active with 27 different airlines, he said.
But he played down the possibility that Boeing, which could overtake Airbus in orders this year on the strength of demand for the 787, would announce much in the way of new orders at the air show, widely expected to be dominated by Airbus. "We are not saving up anything for the air show per se," he said. "It's one week out of 52 weeks."
Sun Jun 12, 2005 02:55 PM ET
By Christian Plumb PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) could start delivering a stretch version of its jumbo 747 in 2008, the planemaker's head of commercial aircraft said on Sunday in the latest sign the company will approve the new plane model.
"We're getting very good interest in the Advanced (7)47," Alan Mulally said at an upbeat press briefing a day before the opening of the Paris Air Show, the aerospace industry's top showcase.
The 747 Advanced would be Boeing's closest competitor to archrival Airbus's (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) flagship double-decker A380 plane -- a star debutante at the display of civilian and military planes at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital.
"We would probably deliver around 2008," he said. "It's really paced by the engine on the (7)87."
Mulally also said he agreed with comments made by Boeing Chairman Lew Platt in an interview with the Independent on Sunday newspaper that the program is gaining "momentum." Platt was quoted as saying a decision could be made on producing the modified 747 at an upcoming board meeting, which Mulally confirmed was scheduled for late June.
Chicago-based Boeing has declined to take on the superjumbo head-on, claiming that the potential market for the 555-seat plane would not justify the amount of investment needed to build a plane that big.
Instead, it will redesign the 30-year-old jet to run on the quieter, more economical engines under development for its smaller 787 Dreamliner, a change that would require little capital expenditure, he said.
'MUCH LOWER RISK'
"It's so much more modest compared with making a new, bigger airplane," he said, adding that the plane would carry about 50 more passengers than the current largest 747, and another 15 tons of cargo. "It's mainly engine change and some work on the wing.
Boeing expects the latest version of its venerable 747 -- still the largest passenger jet in service -- to capture 400 to 500 orders over a 20-year period, Mulally said, taking a swipe at the A380.
"People really appreciate that the A380 is really, really big, it's really big," he said. The 747 Advanced "is so much lower risk than an A380."
Mulally's was the latest recent Boeing presentation highlighting the recovery in the world aircraft market.
"It's going really, really well. You can see an interest in orders across all the airplane models."
The top U.S. planemaker last week forecast that the world passenger jet market would amount to $2.1 trillion over the next 20 years, led by mid-sized planes like the 787.
In addition to 266 orders and commitments for the plane, which aims to cut fuel and other operating costs by about one-fifth over similar models by using composite materials, Boeing has 427 sale proposals active with 27 different airlines, he said.
But he played down the possibility that Boeing, which could overtake Airbus in orders this year on the strength of demand for the 787, would announce much in the way of new orders at the air show, widely expected to be dominated by Airbus. "We are not saving up anything for the air show per se," he said. "It's one week out of 52 weeks."
