No Orders Yet For Passenger Variant

Representatives with Boeing tell ANN the company has completed firm configuration for the design of its upcoming 747-8 Freighter, following a year of collaboration with airline customers and suppliers to determine the optimal configuration.

By completing firm configuration, Boeing has completed the major trade-studies needed to finalize the airplane's performance capability. This allows Boeing and its suppliers to begin detailed design of parts, assemblies and other systems for the 747-8 Freighter.

Once completed, the detailed designs will then be released to Boeing suppliers and factories to begin production of the airplane.

"We designed the 747-8 Freighter to improve upon the 747 family's strong leadership in the air cargo market," said Dan Mooney, 747/747-8 Program vice president. "The 747-8 is designed to deliver 14 percent lower ton-mile costs than the 747-400 Freighter. In fact, the 747-8 Freighter will enjoy the lowest ton-mile costs of any freighter, giving operators unmatched profit potential."

The 747-8 Freighter will be 18.3 feet longer than the 747-400F, and enjoy a maximum structural payload capability of 154 tons with a range of 4,475 miles. It also will feature 16 percent more revenue cargo volume than its predecessor. The additional 121 cubic meters (4,225 cubic feet) of volume means the airplane can accommodate four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets.

"This milestone is a tribute to the efforts of the 747-8 team, the launch customers and our suppliers," said Corky Townsend, 747 Program chief project engineer. "With the November marking the one-year anniversary, the 747-8 Program has made significant progress in its development."

During the program's first year, Boeing completed the bridge from the 747-400 to the 747-8 by garnering 16 orders for 747-400 Freighters and 747-400 ER Freighters. Boeing also secured orders for 44 747-8 Freighters and three 747-8 Intercontinentals. In addition, the program completed preliminary design for the 747-8 Freighter and two rounds of wind-tunnel testing.

The 747-8 Program, which includes the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger airplane and the 747-8 Freighter, was launched in November 2005 by Cargolux Airlines and Nippon Cargo Airlines. Boeing will deliver the first 747-8 Freighter in Cargolux in late 2009.

While the freighter variant of the 747-8 has proven popular so far, the Intercontinental passenger-carrying variant has yet to attract an airline customer. Boeing does have three orders from unspecified clients for VIP versions of the jumbo plane... but the company is no longer promising a launch order from an airline before the end of 2006.

"We potentially could have an order by the end of the year, but I would say 'confident' is too strong a word," Dan Mooney, vice president of Boeing 747 programs, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "We still feel very positive about the Intercontinental market and that we will have a good number of orders from customers."

As Aero-News reported, Boeing recently announced it will offer the Intercontinental with the same fuselage length as that of the freighter variant -- allowing the 747-8i to carry about 467 passengers.

FMI: www.boeing.com