An article by Geoff Easdown in The Herald Sun says that Boeing yesterday lifted the wraps on the design of its next generation 747 jumbo, claiming the new plane will be bigger, cheaper to run and comes with more onboard comforts than the present model.
The 747-8 series jetliner, to be known as the Intercontinental, is a stretched version of the 40-year-old jumbo airframe.
It is to be equipped with the same high-tech engines as the yet to fly smaller Dreamliner and will have a radically altered, upswept wing.
Unlike Airbus which punted the company on getting airlines to buy its 550-seat aerial mammoth, the A380, Boeing is not tipping tens of millions of dollars into a clean-sheet design. It believes the future of aviation is in smaller and more efficient planes.
Michael Teal, deputy chief project engineer for Boeing’s 747 program, said the new plane was ideal for the 400 to 500 seat market “between our 777 and the Airbus A380.”
“Airlines will have significantly lower operating costs, as well as improved economics and environmental performance compared to the 747-400,” Mr Teal said.
Boeing has firm orders for 88 aircraft, with Lufthansa alone buying 20 passenger aircraft.
Boeing said the Intercontinental would enter service in late 2010. It will supersede the present 747-400 series jets which Qantas uses to fly the Pacific and Kangaroo routes.
It will be 5.6m longer than the present 747 model and carry 467 passengers, 17 more seats than Qantas intends to fit to its coming fleet of Airbus superjumbos.
Doug Ackerman, engineering team leader for the 747-8, said the plane would be 16 per cent more fuel efficient and 30 per cent quieter than its predecessor.
It will have an operating range of 14,815km.
A Report by The Mole from The Sun Herald
