OH REALLY!!
Boeing will hold a board meeting this month
to consider the launch of a stretched version of its 747 jumbo jet, a plan which the head of Boeing Italy said on Tuesday looked set to go forward.
The plan comes as rival Airbus prepares to deliver its mammoth 555 seat A380.
"Boeing will launch a new version of the 747 to counter the A380. Boeing has decided on the relaunch, with a larger version, of this glorious airplane which is 30 years old," Rinaldo Petrignani, head of Boeing Italy and vice president of Boeing International, told Italian reporters at the Paris Air Show.
Another senior executive at Boeing confirmed that a board meeting this month would consider the idea of launching the new model, called the 747 Advanced, but added it was premature to speak of definite plans.
"The airplane looks good. We have a fair amount of interest," said Mike Bair, Boeing vice president and head of its 787 program.
