1,000 orders: Life left in the 777?

Published 2:31 pm Wednesday, August 29, 2007

This week has been filled with milestones for the Boeing Co.

And it’s only Wednesday.

On Monday, Boeing delivered its 3,000th Everett-built widebody jet. Today, Boeing announced it had reached the 1,000th order mark for its twin-aisle, Everett-built 777 aircraft.

An order for four 777-300 Extended Range planes from Brazil’s TAM Airlines pushed Boeing over the 1,000-order hump. The order for four 777s also means Boeing has sold 100 777s this year.

TAM’s order follows on the heels of its initial request for four 777s earlier this year. The airline previously had been an exclusive Airbus operator.

Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s marketing vice president and chief corporate blogger, notes that the 777 has won 330 orders and 16 new customers since January 2005. Tinseth offers this tidbit as proof that the 777 is “at the top of its game.”

The future of the 777 has been a topic of debate of late in the industry. Airbus’s A350 XWB seems aimed primarily at Boeing’s 777, not its 787 as initially anticipated.

Boeing already has reaped the benefits of offering the only lightweight, fuel-efficient plane in a particular class with its 787. The Dreamliner, which is expected to make its maiden flight this year, has picked up nearly 700 orders to date. And it won’t even enter service until next spring.

Tinseth assures readers that Boeing “won’t be standing still” with its response to the A350 XWB.

That sentiment was echoed Monday during Boeing’s delivery ceremony for its 3,000th twin-aisle jet built in Everett – a 777 for Korean Air.

On hand was Joe Sutter, the former Boeing executive often called the “father” of Boeing’s 747. Sutter tells me he foresees a long, bright future for the 777.

“It’s going to go on for quite a while,” he said.

Boeing may not have a response yet, but Sutter has one planned out in his head.

“I’ll give them some fatherly advice,” Sutter said.