Boeing locks in 747-8’s design

Published 10:58 pm Tuesday, November 6, 2007

EVERETT — Just weeks after the Boeing’s Co.’s classic 747 lost its title as the world’s largest passenger plane, the latest version of the “Queen of the Skies” has been completed.

“We have designed the 747-8 Intercontinental to be the ideal airplane for serving the 400- to 500-seat market between the 777 and the A380,” Michael Teal, deputy chief project engineer for the 747 program, said in a press statement.

The Boeing Co. has set the basic design of its new 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet — a design that includes an 18.3-foot stretch over its predecessor, the 747-400. The Intercontinental, which will carry 467 passengers, falls shy of the 525-seat Airbus A380. The revamped 747 passenger plane also won’t have the range that potential customer Emirates has publicly demanded.

On the morning Boeing announced it had locked in the basics of the 747-8’s design, a report surfaced that the company was considering a 747-8 that would have greater range but would seat fewer passengers. The vice chairman of Emirates told ATW Online that the longer-range version of the 747 was “back on the table.”

But Boeing spokesman Tim Bader said the company won’t offer a shorter version of the 747.

“We’ll look at ways to improve as we always do,” Bader said.

Improvements to the jet’s range could come via material changes that reduce the jumbo jet’s weight.

The 18.3-foot stretch over the 747-400 puts the Intercontinental in line with the company’s 747-8 Freighter, which has no competitor. Earlier this year, Airbus put on hold the development of its A380 Freighter in order to concentrate on producing the passenger version of the oft-delayed jet.

The 747-8 cargo jet will enter service before the passenger plane — a first for Boeing. The freighter has garnered more orders than the Intercontinental, picking up 63 since its launch. The 747-8 Intercontinental has won requests for 25 jets — 20 for Germany’s Lufthansa and five for undisclosed VIP jet customers.

Aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton with Leeham Co. didn’t see Boeing’s strategy as a bad one.

“I think it’s certainly going to lose them the Emirates order,” Hamilton said. But “I think they had already come to the conclusion they were going to lose it anyway.”

Emirates is the largest customer of Airbus’ A380 superjumbo jet, which seats 525 passengers. When the first A380 entered commercial service last month with Singapore Airlines, it ended the 747’s nearly 40-year reign as the world’s largest passenger jet.

Boeing officials point to the smaller 747’s fuel efficiency as an advantage over the A380. The company has incorporated several features of both the 777 and its new 787 Dreamliner in the latest 747.

The 747-8 will have windows of a size equal to those on a 777, which are larger than the windows used on the 747-400. And the new 747 will use General Electric GEnX engines similar to those featured on the 787.

Analysts such as Hamilton wonder how the recent six-month delay on the 787 Dreamliner will affect the 747-8 Freighter, which enters service in late 2009. Boeing has kept engineers on its Dreamliner program after they were supposed to transfer to the 747-8 program. The Intercontinental does not enter service until late 2010.

With firm configuration complete, Boeing and its suppliers can begin detailed design of parts, assemblies and other systems for the 747-8 Intercontinental. The detailed designs will then be released to Boeing suppliers and factories to begin production of the airplane.

“Now our team and partners must concentrate on completing the detailed designs needed to begin production and deliver the airplane on schedule in late 2010,” Teal said.

Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.

747-8 Intercontinental

Length: 250 feet, 8 inches

Height: 64 feet, 2 inches

Wingspan: 224 feet, 7 inches

Range: 8,000 nautical miles

Typical seating capacity: 467

Thrust: 66,500 pounds

Orders: 25 (5 Boeing Business Jet and 20 Lufthansa orders)

Airbus A380

Length: 239 feet, 3 inches

Height: 79 feet, 7 inches

Wingspan: 261 feet, 8 inches

Range: 8,200 nautical miles

Typical seating capacity: 525

Thrust: 70,000 pounds

Orders: 165 (as of Sept. 30)

Sources: The Boeing Co. and Airbus