Andrew Doyle/LONDON and Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
BOEING PLANS to tackle Airbus Industrie's proposed ultra-high-capacity A3XX-200 head-on with a radical development of its next-generation 747, designated the -700X.
In a move seen as an attempt to pre-empt efforts by Airbus to persuade potential customers to wait for its A3XX stretch, rather than take smaller 747-600Xs, Boeing has briefed a handful of airlines on a 747 configuration which offers an equivalent passenger capacity of around 650 in three classes.
The -700X is understood to have the new wing, engines and undercarriage of the -500X/600X, but with a completely new, ultra-high-capacity, fuselage. The aircraft would be available in 2007, about four years after the A3XX, but would allow airlines to standardise on a Boeing fleet, starting with taking delivery of -500X/ 600Xs from 2001.
The aircraft is being described unofficially within Boeing as a "kind of shorter-range bulk carrier," which fits well into the long-range product strategy, according to Boeing product-development sources, who say: "It's really a way of telling our customers you don't need to worry [about Airbus]. It's a sort of NLA [new large aircraft] in disguise. The -700X is something that British Airways has been looking at for a long time and a phased-development approach makes a lot of sense."
The source adds: "With a 2007 entry into service, this aircraft is still very much made of rubber, but it's already looking a great transatlantic people-mover." Boeing declines to comment officially on the discussions, saying that "-if in fact these talks are happening, then it's nothing we can talk about".
Boeing had originally studied the development of an NLA with the Airbus partners, but failed to reach an agreement early in 1995 on how to proceed.
The strategy of developing a three-aircraft family at once - even if the -700X becomes the NLA and then ultimately the 787 - is described as "boxing Airbus into a difficult position". The -500/600X development would effectively help bridge the gap between the -400 and an NLA, and provide coverage of all the long-range market sectors. The -500X will provide "-400 plus" capacity on extra-long-haul routes, while the -600X expands payload capacity on the current -400 routes. The new -700X would emerge as a high-capacity stablemate to the 777-300 as a "bulk carrier" on traditional 747 Classic routes.
By developing the high-capacity NLA through a building-block approach, Boeing would also be able to spread the massive development costs - estimated at between $12 billion and $15 billion - over three aircraft programmes.
See Farnborough First News.
Source: Flight International
