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Boeing to revamp 747
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April 13, 2001: 8:45 a.m. ET
Longer range, added amenities aimed at countering Airbus superjumbo
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Signaling that it does not plan to hand the heavy-jetliner market over to rival Airbus Industrie any time soon, Boeing Co. will make a heftier, longer-range version of its flagship 747-400, according to a published report Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the new 747 will include many design features Boeing had planned for a superjumbo jet that the company ended up canceling last month in a move that initially seemed to give Airbus and its planned 550-seat A380 dominance in any future superjumbo market.
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The new 747, shown here in an artist's rendering, will include design features of the scrapped superjumbo jet. | | |
The new 747, which has not been publicly announced, will carry only eight more people than the existing 416-passenger 747. However, it will be capable of flying an additional 775 miles without comprising speed or cargo space, the paper said.
The cockpit will reflect new technology, such as easier to read computer screens, a feature that has made Boeing's 777 popular amongst pilots and airlines. The passenger compartment will use currently empty space above the ceiling for sleeping lounges or meeting rooms, features the Airbus competitor also will offer.
People familiar with the Boeing project say company executives decided to proceed with an improved 747-400 at the same time they elected to pull out of the race with Airbus to build a 550-seat jetliner that had been dubbed the 747X, the paper said.
A company spokesman told the paper Boeing is actively talking with potential customers about the new 747, that it is too soon to speculate about costs, but that they would be a fraction of the estimated $4 billion it would have taken to build the 747X.
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Separately, Boeing announced Friday that it has signed a cooperation agreement with Russian space and aviation agency Rosaviakosmos that could lead to the joint development and marketing of a new jet aircraft.
No value for the deal was given, but company officials told Reuters that it covered areas such as aviation infrastructure, aircraft maintenance facilities and procurement of aerospace materials.
Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) has made itself one of the most prominent foreign companies in Russia since the Soviet collapse a decade ago and has developed strong ties with major aviation and space firms.
--Reuters contributed to this story 
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