BOEING: "Airbus are mad building something so big!"

[1279shp]

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.

[Carnage Matey!]

of this glorious airplane which is 30 years old

Says it all really.

[El lute]

There was a 747 project (X, L, ER, XLER whatever) a few years ago and Boeing couldn't find any airlines who were interested.
So what's new now?

[MarkD]

QF have 744ERs but I think(?) they are the only ones who took them.

Every few years Boeing came out with 747 studies but nothing came of them but there was probably a desire to scare Airbus out of doing 3XX (like Sonic Cruiser). Once 380 became reality they had to start fronting up.

[Oshkosh George]

It's because of their new Market Outlook-----




Boeing Projects $2.1 Trillion Market for New Commercial Airplanes

(Source: Boeing Co.; issued June 8, 2005)

LONDON --- Boeing sees a $2.1 trillion market for new commercial airplanes during the next 20 years. Market demands will more than double the world's commercial airplane fleet by 2024 and accommodate a forecasted 4.8% annual increase in passenger traffic growth.

The company released its 2005 Current Market Outlook today in London. The report is considered the most comprehensive and well-respected analysis of the commercial aviation market.

"The long-term demand for new airplanes is going to remain very strong over the next 20 years," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Marketing Randy Baseler. "People will continue to desire traveling where they want to go, when they want to go. And that's reflected in the number and types of airplanes we see in our forecast."

In terms of delivery dollars, the largest market is projected to be the Asia-Pacific region, with 36% of the $2.1 trillion total.

Boeing projects a need for approximately 25,700 new commercial airplanes (passenger and freighter) during the next 20 years, more than 80% of which will be in the single-aisle and mid-size twin-aisle categories. This compares with last year's projection of a 25,000 commercial airplane market, worth $2.0 trillion.

Over the next 20 years, airlines will take delivery of approximately:

--3,900 regional jets
--15,300 single-aisle airplanes
--5,600 mid-size twin-aisle airplanes
--900 airplanes 747-size or larger (approx. 450 airplanes in the 400-500 seats range and approx. 450 airplanes of 500 seats and above)

These deliveries will result in a world fleet of more than 35,000 airplanes.

"Single-aisle airplanes will dominate the market in the next 20 years because they allow airlines to offer more frequencies and increased nonstops in domestic service and short-haul international flights," Baseler said.

"Airlines will also be augmenting their fleets with mid-size twin-aisle airplanes to service long-haul markets across Pacific and Atlantic routes. Very large airplanes, 747-size and greater, will account for only a little over three percent of airplane deliveries in the next two decades."

Boeing is leading the market by providing a family of airplanes that allows customers to maximize their efficiency, increase profitability, and provide the nonstop, point-to-point flights, and frequency choices passengers want.


The updated Market Report in available on Boeing’s website, at: http://www.boeing.com/commercial/cm...o_parisbook.pdf
__


Note the 900x 747 or larger size forecast.

[MarkD]

uh-huh. The same market outlook (remember that Boeing financed study that caused such a fuss a while back?) that used to predict a market of about 450 aircraft instead of 900?