EVERETT – Having the first 777-200LR built will make it easier to sell more of the world’s longest-range jets, the Boeing Co.’s top vice president for sales said Tuesday.
With speeches from celebrities, pulsing Middle Eastern music, flashing lights and a middle school choir, Boeing unveiled that first plane Tuesday at an elaborate rollout ceremony designed to highlight the company’s belief that the future of aerospace lies in connecting far-flung points.
Boeing has christened the new plane the Worldliner, said Lars Andersen, vice president in charge of Boeing’s extended-range 777 programs. The name reflects the globe-hopping range of the new airplane and connects it to Boeing’s next-generation 787 airliner, he said.
“This is extraordinary value we’re going to bring to customers,” Andersen said. “This airplane will certainly go the distance to connect the world.”
Boeing anticipates selling some 300 Worldliners over the next 20 years, along with 200 777-F freighters based on the new passenger jet’s design, said Mike Cave, Boeing’s vice president and general manager in charge of commercial airplane programs.
That’s a lofty goal. So far, Boeing has sold only five 777-200LRs, three to EVA Airways of Taiwan and two to Pakistan International Airlines, which will take delivery in January 2006 of the plane that was rolled out on Tuesday.
Having the first plane available will make a big difference in the sales campaign, said Randy Baesler, Boeing’s vice president of commercial airplane marketing. “There’s nothing like having the real airplane for people to see.”
Boeing plans to take a Worldliner to this year’s Paris air show, and the company will take it on visits to prospective customers during flight-testing in the weeks after that.
Boeing executives say sales of the 777-200LR have been slow because of the worldwide downturn in aviation. Many of the airlines they expected to buy the plane were thrown into a tailspin by the combination of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the outbreak of SARS in Asia and the war in Iraq.
However, air travel is recovering, Baesler said, and those airlines are again in a position to think about new long-distance routes.
Pakistan International Airlines is one of them. The airline plans to use the Worldliner on routes between Pakistan and Houston, allowing expatriate Pakistanis living in the United States to travel home to visit, said Sughra Junejo, a member of the airline’s board of directors.
Pakistan Airlines flies between those cities now, with a stop for refueling in Manchester, England, which results in a trip of 20 hours. With the -200LR, the direct flight would be less than 15 hours.
“We look forward to showing the world just how spectacular it will be,” Junejo said.
Tuesday’s ceremony came less than a month after Airbus rolled out its A380 superjumbo in Toulouse, France. Boeing invited reporters from around the world to the 777-200LR rollout. The company also rolled out big-name VIPs, including retired Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez and Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Martinez drew cheers and laughs when he said “many of you have seen me at work at Safeco (Field) over the years; it feels great to come to see you at work today.” He praised the effort that went into building the plane, calling it “a major-league effort.”
Gregoire called the launch “proof positive that Washington is the center for world-class airplane manufacturing,” and added that while the state benefits greatly from the presence of Boeing, “the benefits are reciprocal.”
“The best-trained, highest-skilled aerospace work force is right here in Washington state,” she said. “The best of the hearts and minds of Washington state are here.”
Reporters from France, Israel, Hong Kong and a half-dozen other countries pounced on Boeing executives after the ceremony, asking them how the company plans to respond to Airbus, which has overtaken it in sales and deliveries.
The -200LR is lighter and more fuel-efficient than Airbus’ competing A340-500, Andersen told a French TV crew. The plane carries 21 more passengers and can fly 600 miles farther. Given that, he said, “We like our chances.”
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
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