Boeing exec: 2011 is ‘the year of the 747′ – report
Published 11:02 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Boeing’s commercial sales chief dubbed this year “the year of the 747,” according to this Bloomberg report.
Boeing’s Marlin Dailey told Bloomberg that sales of the 747-8 will boost the sales of widebody jets up enough to account for 50 percent of jet sales by dollar value in 2011.
Though early sales for the 747-8 passenger plane, called the Intercontinental, have been sluggish, Boeing has remained upbeat about its updated jumbo jet. Several Boeing executives, including Dailey, say that Intercontinental sales will take off after Boeing shows more progress on the jet.
The next opportunity to do so comes as soon as this Sunday, when Boeing plans to fly its 747-8 Intercontinental for the first time.
For readers who might be skeptical of Boeing sales predictions, consider this one: in early February, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney predicted strong sales of the 777, saying that jet will be the “unexpectedly strong (sales) story this decade.” Boeing has landed 29 firm orders for the 777 this year.
Of course, supply has a lot to do with sales. Boeing is upping 777 production to try to accommodate orders and plans to increase 747 production as well. But airlines wanting a 787 or a single-aisle 737 are out of luck for quite a while. In fact, Boeing is considering increasing 737 production to a whopping 43 jets monthly, according to this Flightglobal piece.
