Boeing Unveils 777-200LR

[Sunfish]

Amen Brothers, from the ABC.


Boeing unveils long-range jet to rival Airbus

American aircraft company Boeing has unveiled the longest-range commercial plane ever built.

Boeing's European rival, Airbus, recently launched its super-jumbo, which has a shorter range but can carry many more passengers.

The new 777-200LR is Boeing's latest weapon in its commercial fight with Airbus.

The aircraft is not as big as the new Airbus super-jumbo, the A380, but then Boeing does not believe that in air travel, bigger is necessarily better.

Boeing says its 777-200LR, the world longest-range aircraft, will make it possible to fly London to Sydney non-stop.

The company argues that this is what passengers want - more flights going directly between cities with fewer stopovers.

[Animalclub]

Goes against the hub and spoke principle doesn't it.

[bluewater]

My guess is Emirates will cancel 340-600 and order these beauties and then...DXB non-stop AKL. The bad part is a min rest turnaround. Can they do it...of course they can...there Emirates!

[MarkD]

bluewater

Being EK they will probably get both, (especially with 343s to replace) but remember long and thin is not what they want all the time - remember this is the airline pushing for A380-900! EK likes piling high and selling cheap.

[jetblues]

Ahhhhhhh

I can almost feel the sheepskins in the shiny new Virgin Pacific flight deck.....

What's the latest ETA for LA ?

[bluewater]

Bring em on baby, bring em on!:cool:

[MkVIII]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. GE engines again.....

:p

[Wirraway]

Thurs "The Australian"

Boeing in for the long haul with 777
A correspondent in Everett, Washington
February 17, 2005

BOEING yesterday unveiled a long-range version of its 777 commercial airliner, which the company said could fly from London to Sydney, making it the world's longest-range commercial aircraft.

With the launch of the new 777-200LR long-range "Worldliner", Boeing is hoping to attract airlines that will ferry passengers directly between multiple points.

The new 301-passenger 777 is expected to make its first flight in March. It will be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines, its launch customer, in January 2006.

The twin-engine aircraft could fly 17,500km when equipped with three optional fuel tanks. This was enough to "connect any two cities in the world today", said Lars Andersen, Boeing's vice president in charge of the 777 program at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"This is the longest-range airplane in the world," Mr Andersen told reporters at Boeing's Everett plant, where the jumbo 747 and 767 planes are also built.

Even with a full-passenger payload in a typical three-class configuration, the 777-200LR would be able to connect cities as far-flung as Los Angeles and Johannesburg, London and Sydney, and New York and Jakarta, Boeing said.

There's a hitch, though. Although the plane can fly from London to Sydney, it will have to stop once to refuel when returning on the same route since it will be flying against high-altitude jet streams going back.

The 777-200LR would compete directly with Airbus's A340-600 and A340-500, but had seat-mile costs 15-18 per cent lower than those models, Boeing said.

Boeing is basing its 777 Freighter cargo plane on the 777-200LR that can carry 101 tonnes of cargo. The planes are powered by two General Electric GE90-115B engines, which the company claims to be the world's most powerful commercial jet engine, with 115,000 pounds of thrust. Boeing is betting that airlines will be buying more mid-size jetliners in the same class as the 777 and its newest model, the 787, to ferry passengers between multiple cities, rather than gathering them at big airport hubs and carrying them on larger planes.

The 787, formerly called the 7E7, is also aimed at ferrying passengers from point to point at a much lower operating cost, and is expected to take to the skies in 2008.

Boeing's main rival, Airbus, which last year became the world's largest commercial jet manufacturer, is betting that people will continue to travel through its major airport hubs with its superjumbo A380 aircraft.

Reuters

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[Plas Teek]

Nice, can't wait to get my dirty fingers all over those clean screens, drop some pastry on the centre console and whack my head on the overhead panel.

Hmmm, can I wait the 4 years for my turn.....

[hotnhigh]

JetBS, I thought you were talking about jungle jets last week? You can't have every toy in the play pen.:ouch:

[FabulousBakerBoy]

So did QF order the wrong equipment? i.e A380.

This seems more suited - depending on whether QF still exists in any recognisable guise in 4 years.

I cannot help but feel many an A380 option will not be exercised in favour of this machine.

WRT Hub and Spoke OPS - that is becoming the achilles heel of the legacy carriers is it not? Optimum crew / other resource allocation principle just do not work with a large H&S configuration. Direct city pairs are proving much more efficient. See Southwest in the US for proof. And AMR/AAL for proof the other way.

[jetblues]

Hey H&H I'm not going anywhere near those "jungle jets". The 737 is the smallest toy I'm prepared to play with.

Crikey the 777 would be heading in the right direction again at least.

Bring it on !!

[CT7]

I suppose one should have a play with the French bit of kit just so as to appreciate a Boeing product.