Boeing Weighs Airline Interest In Eight New Planes Proposals Include Two Larger 747s, One With A Capacity Of Nearly 500 Passengers
Boeing executives head to the Paris Air Show this week hoping to entice customers with a long list of proposed new jetliners - including another try at larger versions of the jumbo 747-400.
In all, Boeing has eight new versions of existing aircraft under consideration. That’s in addition to six aircraft now in full-scale development and 13 models in production - all part of Boeing’s strategy to fill every conceivable niche of the commercial jet market.
Topping the list of possibilities are the 747-400X, a beefed-up version of the jumbo that would add 575 miles to the earlier model’s 8,290-mile range and allow heavier loads; and the 747-400X Stretch, about 23 feet longer than the 232-foot 747-400.
That would make it the world’s largest jetliner, carrying about 70 more passengers than the 420-passenger 747-400, but with slightly shorter range.
Other planes being considered are the 737-900, a stretched, 180-passenger version of the work-horse twinjet; a 737 freighter; two newer and heavier versions of the 777; an upgraded 767-300, with larger wings; and a commercial version of the new Boeing Business Jet - minus the luxury trappings.
In January, Boeing shelved plans to develop the “superjumbo” 747-500X and 747-600X, extensive remakes of the 747 that would carry 500 passengers or more. Boeing said there wasn’t the demand to justify the planes’ $7 billion development cost.
This time, Boeing is merely tweaking the decade-old design of the 747-400 to increase its size, capacity and economics.
Boeing estimates that over the next 20 years, the need for aircraft larger than the present 747 will total only 500 planes. Most of that, Boeing planners believe, will be for planes only slightly larger than the existing jumbos.
“We’re coming up with a product development option that lets us capture the bulk of the market without having to do an all-new airplane,” said Bob DeVore, director of product strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group.
At the week-long Paris show, which opens Sunday, Boeing will focus on its family of new-generation 737s. A new 737-700 was due to leave Seattle Thursday to fly to France as the centerpiece of Boeing’s exhibit.
Archrival Airbus Industrie, by contrast, will have its flagship A340, a smaller A319, and a full-size, cross-section mock-up of the A3XX, its proposed 555-passenger superjumbo.
Though no airline has ordered the huge, double-decker aircraft, Airbus is sticking to its plan to launch the A3XX program next year, with the first plane to go into service in 2003, spokesman David Venz said.
Airbus is talking with possible airline customers to get their opinion of what the new plane should be like. “Interest has been very high in it,” Venz said.
Boeing was widely expected to launch the 747-500 and -600 programs at England’s Farnborough Air Show last September. Instead, Boeing’s top executives warned of the economic dangers of developing such planes.
Airbus, naturally, sees it differently.
“I think the real reason they didn’t launch it was nobody wanted to buy essentially a new version of a 30-year-old airplane,” Venz said.
Although the 747 “has been a great airplane,” Venz said, “I think the industry is saying that for the next very large airplane, it wants one with state-of-the-art technology on it and a new design. And that’s what Airbus is offering with the A3XX.”
Boeing, conversely, thinks airlines will stick with the tried and true.
DeVore said the proposed 747-400X and 747-400X Stretch would allow airlines to incrementally expand their business without having to pay for crew training and the new equipment, facilities, parts and other costs that all-new aircraft entail.
Boeing’s development costs would be a fraction of those for a brand-new plane. And the new jets would be out much sooner - if launched as anticipated later this year, they could be flying in 2001.
“The airline interest is pretty good from what we’ve been able to sense so far. We haven’t had any deep, deep discussions yet,” DeVore said.
DeVore said he thinks all the proposed planes will probably be launched in the next year or so, though he acknowledges Boeing already has its plate full.
xxxx POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO BOEING LINEUP Here are the commercial jets Boeing is considering: 747-400X: Increased-gross weight version of the jumbo, would add about 575 miles to the earlier model’s range and allow heavier loads. 747-400X Stretch: At just over 255 feet long, it would be the world’s largest jetliner, carrying about 70 more passengers than the 747-400. Slightly shorter range. 777-200X: Higher-weight, ultra-long-range 777, able to fly nearly 9,800 miles. Malaysia Airlines says it wants to buy them if Boeing decides to build them. 777-300X: Increased weight version of the stretch 777, pushing range to 7,700 miles. 767-300ER upgrade: Would bring the stronger, larger wings and other enhancements of the 767-400ER to the earlier model. 737-900: The longest 737 yet, adding 18 more seats and about 110 inches to the 737-800. Slightly shorter range. BBJ Commercial: Offers the long range but not the frills of the business jet for airline use. 737-700QC: For Quick-Change. A cargo door would be put in the 737-700 allowing it to easily switch back and forth from all-passenger to all-cargo.