Baseler talks up the 747 Advanced
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, March 1, 2005
The Boeing marketing chief talked to Reuters about the proposed next-generation jumbo jet in Germany:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/02/news/fortune500/boeing.reut/
And here’s the full text of a Bloomberg News story on the same topic. Long-time Herald readers will recognize the byline of Susanna Ray, who used to cover politics for us but now writes about European airlines for Bloomberg, based in Frankfurt.
Boeing Considers Stretched 747 Model, 737 Replacement
By Susanna Ray and Andrea Rothman
March 2 (Bloomberg) — Boeing Co., the world’s second-
biggest commercial-aircraft maker, plans to decide by the middle
of this year about offering a stretched version of the 747 plane
that would fly commercially by 2009.
Boeing will also probably replace its single-aisle 737
model, the best-selling airliner in the world, within the next
decade with a newly named aircraft using technology from the 787
plane the company is developing, Randy Baseler, Boeing’s head of
airliner marketing, told journalists in Frankfurt today.
Airbus SAS has been the world’s largest planemaker for the
past two years, widening its lead over Chicago-based Boeing in
2004 with 320 aircraft deliveries versus the U.S. company’s 285
planes. Baseler said Boeing expects sales of twin-aisle
airliners, which include the 747, 787 and the 777, to help the
company reclaim the top spot within two to three years.
“They really aren’t making very many of 747 passenger
planes right now,” said Robert Friedman, an analyst in New York
at Standard &Poor’s, who has a “hold” rating on Boeing shares.
“A decision either way on a new version is not going to have a
big effect on Boeing’s long-term bottom line.”
The 747, which seats at least 416, is scheduled to be
overtaken as the world’s biggest airliner in 2006 by Toulouse,
France-based Airbus’s 555-seat A380.
While Alan Mulally, chief executive of Boeing’s commercial-
aircraft business, said in July that the planemaker is
considering a larger 747 in response to Asian customers’ demands,
the last passenger-version 747 order was in November 2002 from
Taipei-based China Airlines.
Advanced Version
Boeing met in September with 12 Asian and European airlines,
which told the planemaker they were interested in a stretched 747
and needed a decision by the middle of this year, Baseler said.
The so-called 747 Advanced version would have 450 seats and
would use engines being developed for the 787, which is scheduled
to begin service in 2008, Baseler said.
“It’s a slight stretch of the 747,” he said. “The
airplane wouldn’t deliver until 2009 because of the engines for
the 787.”
Boeing shares rose 81 cents to $55.30 in New York Stock
Exchange composite trading. They have risen 28 percent in the
past year.
A380 Test Flight
Airbus expects to perform the first test flight of the A380
in early April, Rainer Hertrich, co-chief executive of Airbus’s
80 percent owner, European Aeronautic, Defense &Space Co., said
in Munich today.
The U.S. company has no plans to build a plane as large as
the A380 “because we think the market is small,” Baseler said.
Airbus has forecast demand for 1,250 A380s. Boeing, in contrast,
believes airlines only need 270 aircraft of the A380’s capacity,
with similar demand for a plane with about 450 seats, he said.
The possible cancellation of 747 production won’t be
addressed until after a decision is made on the stretched
version, Baseler said.
“What we need to do with the 747 is get the 747 Advanced
launched this year, and we should know that by the middle of this
year,” Baseler said, adding that an announcement “hopefully”
will be made before the Paris Air Show, which starts June 13.
Model Challenge
Airbus is also challenging Boeing’s planned 200- to 300-seat
787 with the A350, which is scheduled to enter service in 2010.
Boeing had 56 orders for 787s in 2004, less than a target of
200 contracts. Boeing on Jan. 28 won a $7.2 billion, 60-plane
contract from Chinese airlines for 787s, its biggest agreement
for the new model and the first from the country. The model will
replace Boeing’s similarly sized 757 and 767 aircraft.
The company “definitely” plans to launch a 787-900 model
and is already talking about it to customers, who have shown “a
lot of interest,” Baseler said, adding that Boeing expects to
outsell Airbus in the twin-aisle plane market.
Composite materials being developed for the 787 will be used
on other planes as well, including the 747 Advanced and
eventually the 737’s replacement, he said.
Airbus’s counterpart to the 110- to 189-seat 737 is the A320
model series.
The European planemaker on Feb. 26 won an order for as many
as 79 A320-series planes, valued at as much as 4.5 billion euros
($5.9 billion) at list prices, from Spain’s Iberia Lineas Aereas
de Espana SA. Boeing on Feb. 24 won a 70-plane, $4 billion
contract for 737s from Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest low-
cost carrier.
“We will continue to probably battle 50-50 with the single-
aisles,” Baseler said. “Airbus has been producing more A320s
over the last couple of years, and probably will over the next
year or so” in comparison with the 737 model.
