Yeah....this was also reported on ATI today:
773ER works out at a few more tonnes per mainwheel than a 744ER does....773 = 27 tonnes vs around 23.8 on the 747.
Orly faces runway upgrade headache to handle 777-300ERs
Paris airports operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) is discussing options to reinforce the runway at the capital’s Orly Airport after discovering that it could be damaged by intensive operations by Air France’s Boeing 777-300ERs.
Air France – which already operates 777-300ERs from Paris Charles de Gaulle – is planning to station seven of the type at Orly from May 2006 to be used on dedicated routes to French territories.
But while Charles de Gaulle’s runways are strong enough to withstand frequent operations by larger aircraft, Orly’s will need upgrade work to handle the 777s.
Paris Orly has three runways, the longest of which is the main 25/07 strip. Air France says: “Examination of the resistance values published for the longest runway at Orly Airport did not appear to suggest difficulties in receiving Air France’s 777-300ERs.
“It appears that the actual technical state of the pavement nevertheless requires reinforcement before intensive use of these Boeings.”
A spokeswoman for Air France says the airline is in talks with ADP regarding measures to strengthen the airport’s surfaces. She says that there is “enough time” to carry out the work before Air France introduces the aircraft to Orly next year.
Each of the two main-gear legs on the 777-300ER supports 46% of the aircraft’s weight and this is spread between six wheels. The 777-300ER has an all-up mass of 352t.
In contrast the Boeing 747-400ER, while having an all-up mass of 414t, carries its weight on four main-gear legs each supporting 23% of the aircraft’s weight. Each main-gear bogie has four wheels.
This means that the 777-300ER, despite being the lighter of the two, potentially concentrates a greater load on each individual wheel.
Air France is not intending to alter its plans to base the 777s at Orly and insists ADP should bear the responsibility for funding the reinforcement work.
“It should be ADP [that bears the cost] because we pay taxes to the airport,” says the Air France spokeswoman. “That’s what they’re for.”
Discussions over the issue have been taking place since last month. ADP is declining to comment on the issue of financing any alterations. A spokeswoman for the Orly operator says that the airport was not designed to deal with frequent operations by the largest aircraft types, expecting such services to be routed primarily through Charles de Gaulle.
“It had been decided that Charles de Gaulle was the most appropriate to handle large aircraft. Orly wasn’t supposed to handle them,” she says.
“Orly has the ability to handle [these] aircraft in special or rare cases – when there is a diversion, for example – but the problem with the Air France aircraft is to do with handling them many times daily. There’s a big difference between handling large aircraft once or twice a year, and several times a day.”
Although Boeing is aware of the matter, says a spokesman for the manufacturer, the company wants to avoid becoming involved in a debate which, it claims, is between the airline and the French airport authorities – arguing that the issue is nothing to do with the design of the aircraft but rather the airline’s choice of where to operate the twin-jet.
(source: Air Transport Intelligence)
CP