Emirates urges Boeing to consider longer-range 747-8I
Well Timmy C. is definitely looking for other options.....
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Emirates is urging Boeing to continue studies of the longer range 747-8 Intercontinental variant incorporating the original shorter fuselage stretch, if it wishes to retain the prospect of an order from the Dubai carrier.
Emirates has ordered up to 20 747-8Fs for its cargo arm, and the airline’s president Tim Clark says the 747-8I is being evaluated to meet its requirement for a 400 seater to operate on direct services between Dubai and Los Angeles.
However Emirates is only interested in the “140in [3.5m] stretch” first proposed, says Clark, as the larger version with the “220in” (5.6m) extension which has now been adopted cannot carry a “meaningful payload” on the route.
Boeing revealed the 747-8I rethink last week, when it provided updated specifications confirming that it had standardised the fuselage extension of the passenger variant with that of the Freighter. This means that both aircraft have an overall length of 76.3m, which increases the typical three class capacity of the 747-8I from 450 to 467 but results in a range penalty of around 300km.
Speaking to ATI at an event to mark the opening of Emirates’ new lounge at London Heathrow’s Terminal 3, Clark said that while the larger, shorter range variant suits most the requirements of most 747-8I prospective customers, it falls short of Emirates’ needs, which are more focused on range than capacity.
“By our rules, the aircraft would seat 400 people on the Dubai-Los Angeles route and will only be able to carry around 70% of its passenger load,” he adds.
The original 747-8I had a 2m forward fuselage plug, while the new version’s plug is increased to 4.1m. The rear plug remains the same at 1.5m. Clark says he has suggested to Boeing that it should consider building both versions of the 747-8I “to increase the product spread within the family”.
He adds: “Why don’t they offer one version with the short forward plug and one with the longer plug?”
Boeing has previously made it clear that it only intends to build one version of the 747-8I, but says that despite now settling on the length, it is "still in discussions with airlines about what the optimal performance for the -8I from an operating cost and economics perspective”.
Clark says: “My thinking is that if we went to Boeing and said we’d order 20 [of the shorter fuselage variant], then they’d probably go for it.” Clark envisages that if a 747-8I order was placed, the aircraft could be in service with Emirates from around 2011.