lame
25th Apr 2004, 10:12
The advance on the 747
EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. is moving ahead with another plan to develop a 21st-century jumbo jet.
The 747 Advanced would incorporate the engines and cockpit technology from the 7E7, said Brad Till, Boeing's regional director of product marketing. It also would take advantage of something the 7E7 team studied but rejected -- ultralight aluminum alloys.
Stretched out longer to allow more seats and with redesigned overhead space that could create new premium sections, the 747 Advanced would be the only jet filling the gap in size between the 555-seat Airbus A380 superjumbo and 350-seat jets such as the 777 or A340, Till said.
Whether the Advanced is launched or quietly fades away like previously planned 747 upgrades depends on the interest shown by airlines.
Boeing has proposed, then dropped, half a dozen 747 derivatives in the past decade. Only one proposal, the extended-range 747-400ER, got into the air.
But Boeing is talking seriously about this latest proposal. Commercial Airplanes chief Alan Mulally told European journalists earlier this month that the 747 Advanced could be ready "by the end of this decade."
While noting there have "been a couple of false starts with the 747," analyst Peter Jacobs said the latest proposal "is something that should not be completely dismissed."
"The main difference," he continued, "is using the 7E7 engines."
One of the major stumbling blocks to previously proposed 747 upgrades was the cost of developing new engines capable of improving the plane's performance, said Jacobs, who is with Ragan McKenzie in Seattle.
But with Boeing already spending the money to develop the 7E7 engines, it would be far less costly to adapt those engines to the 747 Advanced. Given that, it makes a lot of sense for Boeing to take a look at another 747 upgrade, he said.
One of the concepts under study for the 747 Advanced is borrowed from Boeing's new line of longer-range 777s -- overhead seating areas.
At Boeing's interiors center in Everett, designers have built mock-ups of what they're calling the "Sky Suite" -- clusters of private bunks or lounge seating in the space above the main passenger cabin that's behind the 747's distinctive upper-deck hump.
"The airlines are pushing us to look at, more and more, innovative ways to free up space to generate revenue," Till said. "In the 747, behind the hump, there's a lot of space."
Aviation regulations mean passengers couldn't sit in the Sky Suites during takeoff and landing, Till said. But they could move up a staircase into the plane's "attic" once the jet reaches cruising altitude.
Once up there, there would be room to stretch out and relax -- as long as you're sitting down. The ceiling is too low for 6-footers to stand up comfortably.
To compensate, Boeing is proposing that airlines install semiprivate bunks where the same 6-foot-tall person could stretch out for a nap. There also would be room for either a lounge, where perhaps a dozen people could sit at tables, or computer workstations where business people could connect to their offices using Boeing's Connexion aerial Internet service.
Either option would be an attractive alternative to the lie-flat beds many airlines are installing for their first-class passengers, Till said. Depending on what configurations the airlines end up choosing, pairing an economy class seat with a pass to the Sky Suite could create 12 to 28 new premium seats for airlines to sell on transoceanic flights.
"You've essentially added up to 28 first-class seats," Till said.
There's also room for a rest area for flight attendants next to the Sky Suite. And if airlines don't like the overhead seating option, Boeing has worked up an overhead storage area for the bulky galley carts that would free up room for a half-dozen economy class seats on the main deck, said Dick Johnson, a design engineer who is working on the proposed interiors.
Airbus also offers those kinds of features, but it puts them in the belly of the plane, which takes up space that could be used for cargo, Till said. "The bottom line is just making space for revenue."
The idea behind the 747 Advanced makes some sense, said analyst Richard Aboulafia with the Teal Group in Virginia.
But so far, "customers aren't showing a whole lot of interest," Aboulafia said.
An updated 747 would have to compete against the new A380, he noted. While Boeing should be able to sell a 747 Advanced for less than the A380, that's not a given, considering the dramatic price cuts Airbus has offered on the new superjumbo -- reportedly as much as 40 percent off the $250 million list price.
"That large aircraft market is getting smaller and smaller, and to call Airbus aggressive is an understatement," Aboulafia said.
The big question with the 747 Advanced, he said, is whether Boeing's really going to spend the money to develop and build it. "Will they keep the line going for 18 (planes) a year?"
One or two planes a month is "about all you could ask for or want at this stage," Jacobs said. If Boeing's able to significantly improve the 747's range or cargo-carrying capacity, that could be enough to keep the assembly line moving for another 10 years, he said.
EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. is moving ahead with another plan to develop a 21st-century jumbo jet.
The 747 Advanced would incorporate the engines and cockpit technology from the 7E7, said Brad Till, Boeing's regional director of product marketing. It also would take advantage of something the 7E7 team studied but rejected -- ultralight aluminum alloys.
Stretched out longer to allow more seats and with redesigned overhead space that could create new premium sections, the 747 Advanced would be the only jet filling the gap in size between the 555-seat Airbus A380 superjumbo and 350-seat jets such as the 777 or A340, Till said.
Whether the Advanced is launched or quietly fades away like previously planned 747 upgrades depends on the interest shown by airlines.
Boeing has proposed, then dropped, half a dozen 747 derivatives in the past decade. Only one proposal, the extended-range 747-400ER, got into the air.
But Boeing is talking seriously about this latest proposal. Commercial Airplanes chief Alan Mulally told European journalists earlier this month that the 747 Advanced could be ready "by the end of this decade."
While noting there have "been a couple of false starts with the 747," analyst Peter Jacobs said the latest proposal "is something that should not be completely dismissed."
"The main difference," he continued, "is using the 7E7 engines."
One of the major stumbling blocks to previously proposed 747 upgrades was the cost of developing new engines capable of improving the plane's performance, said Jacobs, who is with Ragan McKenzie in Seattle.
But with Boeing already spending the money to develop the 7E7 engines, it would be far less costly to adapt those engines to the 747 Advanced. Given that, it makes a lot of sense for Boeing to take a look at another 747 upgrade, he said.
One of the concepts under study for the 747 Advanced is borrowed from Boeing's new line of longer-range 777s -- overhead seating areas.
At Boeing's interiors center in Everett, designers have built mock-ups of what they're calling the "Sky Suite" -- clusters of private bunks or lounge seating in the space above the main passenger cabin that's behind the 747's distinctive upper-deck hump.
"The airlines are pushing us to look at, more and more, innovative ways to free up space to generate revenue," Till said. "In the 747, behind the hump, there's a lot of space."
Aviation regulations mean passengers couldn't sit in the Sky Suites during takeoff and landing, Till said. But they could move up a staircase into the plane's "attic" once the jet reaches cruising altitude.
Once up there, there would be room to stretch out and relax -- as long as you're sitting down. The ceiling is too low for 6-footers to stand up comfortably.
To compensate, Boeing is proposing that airlines install semiprivate bunks where the same 6-foot-tall person could stretch out for a nap. There also would be room for either a lounge, where perhaps a dozen people could sit at tables, or computer workstations where business people could connect to their offices using Boeing's Connexion aerial Internet service.
Either option would be an attractive alternative to the lie-flat beds many airlines are installing for their first-class passengers, Till said. Depending on what configurations the airlines end up choosing, pairing an economy class seat with a pass to the Sky Suite could create 12 to 28 new premium seats for airlines to sell on transoceanic flights.
"You've essentially added up to 28 first-class seats," Till said.
There's also room for a rest area for flight attendants next to the Sky Suite. And if airlines don't like the overhead seating option, Boeing has worked up an overhead storage area for the bulky galley carts that would free up room for a half-dozen economy class seats on the main deck, said Dick Johnson, a design engineer who is working on the proposed interiors.
Airbus also offers those kinds of features, but it puts them in the belly of the plane, which takes up space that could be used for cargo, Till said. "The bottom line is just making space for revenue."
The idea behind the 747 Advanced makes some sense, said analyst Richard Aboulafia with the Teal Group in Virginia.
But so far, "customers aren't showing a whole lot of interest," Aboulafia said.
An updated 747 would have to compete against the new A380, he noted. While Boeing should be able to sell a 747 Advanced for less than the A380, that's not a given, considering the dramatic price cuts Airbus has offered on the new superjumbo -- reportedly as much as 40 percent off the $250 million list price.
"That large aircraft market is getting smaller and smaller, and to call Airbus aggressive is an understatement," Aboulafia said.
The big question with the 747 Advanced, he said, is whether Boeing's really going to spend the money to develop and build it. "Will they keep the line going for 18 (planes) a year?"
One or two planes a month is "about all you could ask for or want at this stage," Jacobs said. If Boeing's able to significantly improve the 747's range or cargo-carrying capacity, that could be enough to keep the assembly line moving for another 10 years, he said.