Boeing is reviving plans for a stretched 747-400 derivative, which would use technology, and possibly engines, developed for the 7E7. The unnamed project, a more advanced successor to the proposed 747-800X, is under discussion with airlines, says vice-president marketing, Randy Baseler. "We will be looking at it with the airlines over the next two to three years before [we decide if] it reaches programme status," says Baseler, adding that the new variant is likely to fly "two to three years after the 7E7, towards the end of the decade. By then there will be a replacement market for the 747-400." The new version would be stretched to add up to four more seat rows, boosting capacity to 440-450. Range would be increased by 925km (500nm) compared with the 747-400ER, to 14,800km.
Source: Flight International
