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Boeing Sells First 747 for Passengers in Years

Posted on: Monday, 12 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Roger Yu

For the first time in nearly four years, Boeing has sold a passenger model of its venerable 747, the jumbo jet that revolutionized air travel when it entered service 35 years ago.

Boeing declined to name the buyer but quietly posted the order on its website last week. The customer chose to keep the purchase quiet, says Tim Bader, a Boeing spokesman.

Passengers generally favor the safety and comfort of the four-engine 747, which, for the moment, is the largest commercial jetliner. But the planes have fallen out of favor in recent years with airlines looking to trim operating costs.

The 747 costs $3,000 more per flight hour to operate than Boeing's smaller long-range alternative, the 777, according to aviation consultant Eclat of Vienna, Va. Boeing's last passenger 747 order was in November 2002.

Until about a year ago, Boeing seemed to be on the verge of pulling the plug on the jumbo jet, as it phased out older 747 models and kept only the ability to build the 747-400. Mainly because of its appeal as a cargo carrier, Boeing committed late last year to an updated, more fuel-efficient version, the 747-8.

The 747-8 passenger plane, also dubbed Intercontinental, can seat up to 450 in three classes, or 34 more than the 747-400. It also has longer wings and uses the fuel-efficient engines of the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's high-tech, fuel-efficient airliner set to begin flying in 2008. The cost to operate the 747-8 is 9% lower than the 747-400.

So far, Boeing has received 18 orders for the cargo version of the new plane, 10 from Cargolux and eight from Nippon Cargo Airlines. But it hasn't been able to generate orders for the passenger version until now as airlines, which have the option to buy the even bigger A-380 from Boeing rival Airbus, have snubbed it.

The few international carriers intent on jumbos have been opting for the A-380, which will become the largest passenger airplane when Singapore Airlines begins flying them commercially later this year. In a typical configuration, the A-380 will haul about 550 passengers.

Boeing projects about 900 jumbos like the 747 and A-380 will be sold for cargo and passenger service in the next 20 years.

Demand is coming mostly from Asia and the Middle East, says Scott Hamilton, an aviation analyst in Seattle. He says the outlook for 747-8 in the passenger market remains cloudy given airlines' preference for more-nimble, fuel-efficient jets.

"It's not going to be a big barnburner," he says.

Boeing will end production of the 747-400 when it delivers the first 747-8 Freighter in 2009. It will begin delivering the 747-8 Intercontinental in 2010.

(c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

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