Tue, Oct 24, 2006
Should The 747-8I Be Bigger Or Longer-Legged?
Boeing is currently facing a dilemma that rival Airbus would
dearly love to have. Several airlines want different variants of
its newly enlarged 747.
When Boeing announced it would be stretching its classic 747 to
carry 450 passengers, last November, Emirates was happy to hear
it.
The new Boeing 747-8I (for International) 450 passenger design
looked to be an ideal model to fit a slot between Boeing's 777 and
the often-delayed, much larger Airbus A380.
But then Boeing decided to sretch the -8I just a little bit longer to match
the contours of the new freighter version it is also building. The
new model would carry 467. And that has Emirates not so happy.
Flight International reports Emirates president Tim Clark says
"We have made it clear to Boeing that we prefer the [original]
stretch because of its greater range at maximum payload."
Emirates already has on order twenty stretched 747-8Fs for its
cargo arm. It also is by far the largest customer for Airbus's
trouble-plagued A380 superjumbo, and if it decides to cancel that
order, Boeing would be in an ideal position to sell even more of
its products.
But the extra-stretched 747 design would have slightly less
range. Emirates would prefer the long legs, instead.
British Airways, on the other hand, is in the market for the
747-8I and doesn't need quite the range It likes the longer
467-passenger model.
Decisions... decisions... Boeing, of course, could just offer
both versions of the 747 Intercontinental, but that would reduce
its productivity and profit margin. It could also arrange to add
auxiliary tanks, but Boeing says "right now the focus is on how to
get the lowest operating costs and the best economics while
fulfilling a normal range of 8,000nm."
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