Touts Upcoming Development Milestones For 777-200F, 747-8F
As Boeing looks forward in the
freighter business, the company doesn't have to look very far to
see that "The Future of Freighters Is Now."
"We've been on a great run with three consecutive years of
record freighter orders," said Jim Edgar, regional director, Cargo
Marketing - Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "But that's just the
beginning -- this year we're anticipating a series of milestones
that bring about major improvements in fuel efficiency,
environmental responsibility and operational flexibility. Our two
new large freighters will provide a 16 to 34 percent improvement in
CO2 and fuel efficiency relative to today's large freighters, and
will be significantly quieter than Stage 4 community noise
requirements.
"We've been laying the groundwork for a transformation that
really takes off in 2008. We began major assembly of the 777
Freighter in January and will move forward with the completion of
assembly, flight test, certification and a fourth-quarter delivery
of the first 777 Freighter to Air France, and we'll achieve
critical design milestones for the 747-8 Freighter and the start of
747-8F production. These airplanes will be the key revenue
generators for the air cargo industry for years to come," Edgar
added.
Orders for new Boeing production freighters have numbered 74, 81
and 83 for 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively -- for an impressive
total of 258 airplanes, accounting for about 14 percent of total
Boeing commercial airplane order value during that time.
The planemaker says development of the 747-8F will proceed, as
General Electric conducts testing on its GEnx and Boeing reaches 50
percent design release during the early part of the year. Flying
test-bed runs and 90 percent design release will be accomplished
midyear and production on the 747-8F will start in late 2008,
leading to a busy 2009 that features the airplane's rollout, first
flight, certification and first delivery to Cargolux of
Luxembourg.
Along with the 777 and 747-8 activities, Boeing freighter plans
for 2008 include the first delivery of the company's 767-300 Boeing
Converted Freighter to ANA and the release of Boeing's biennial
World Air Cargo Forecast 2008/2009 at The International Air Cargo
Forum & Exposition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November.
Boeing says these new products, in addition to the existing
767-300 production freighter and the current 747 Freighter fleet of
more than 300 airplanes, coupled with the successful 747-400 Boeing
Converted Freighter program, position the planemaker for continued
success in the air cargo marketplace.
Boeing notes its freighters currently account for more than 90
percent of the world's dedicated freighter capacity, with the 747
Freighter Family alone accounting for more than half of that
capacity.