Suppliers May Now Begin To Make Parts, Tooling
Engineers at Boeing told ANN Monday the planemaker recently
completed 50 percent of the design for the upcoming 777 Freighter.
The completion of this work means half of the detailed design of
the 777 Freighter is defined and has been released to Boeing
factories and its suppliers to begin building parts, assemblies and
tools for the new cargo airplane.
"The 777 Freighter team has done a tremendous job working with
our customers and program partners to define what will be the
world's most capable twin-engine freighter," said Kim Pastega,
deputy program manager and engineering leader, 777 Freighter
Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are seeing strong market
acceptance for the 777 Freighter, along with a growing cargo market
around the world. We have a broad set of customers for the new
airplane that includes traditional cargo operators, airlines and
leasing companies."
Boeing is on schedule to complete the detailed design work and
is on track to meet its commitments for the 777 Freighter's
performance capabilities, Pastega said.
As ANN reported, Boeing
launched the 777 Freighter in May 2005 with an order from Air
France for five freighters. Boeing continues to work closely with
Air France and other customers to complete the new cargo airplane's
design.
"We have been pleased with the strong partnership we have had
with Boeing throughout the development of the 777 Freighter," said
Pierre Vellay, vice president of New Aircraft and Corporate Fleet
Planning, Air France. "We look forward to introducing this new
airplane into our cargo fleet that will increase our business
performance with its fuel efficiency."
The first 777 Freighter will be delivered to Air France in the
fourth quarter of 2008. To date, Boeing has 71 orders for the 777
Freighter from 11 customers, including Air France, Avion Group,
Emirates, FedEx Express, Qatar Airways, Guggenheim Aviation
Partners, Korean Air, GE Commercial Aviation Services, Oak Hill
Capital Partners and two unidentified customers.
Based on the 777-200LR (Longer Range) passenger plane, the 777
Freighter will provide more capacity than any other twin-engine
freighter and the lowest trip cost of any large freighter,
according to Boeing. The 777 Freighter has a revenue payload
capability of 229,000 lbs and a range of 4,885 nautical miles with
a full payload and general cargo market densities, making it the
longest-range twin-engine freighter available.
The 777 Freighter is designed to complement 747 cargo operations
with the ability to transfer shipments directly between the two
airplanes. The main cargo door of the 777 Freighter will be sized
to accommodate 10-foot-high (three-meter) pallets for easy
interlining with 747 freighters --the plane type that makes up
about half of the world's freighter capacity.