Boeing hopes new plane will recall old glory days
Boeing has rolled out an updated jumbo jet, “hoping to relive the glamour of the birth of the 747 over 40 years ago and use it to boost slow sales,” according to Reuters.
The 747-8 Intercontinental will seat 467 passengers, 51 more than the current version of the 747.
It will also burn less fuel while offering passengers more comfort, the US plane maker says.
"Of all the airplanes that we’ve built, there is one that is identified more closely with Boeing than any other, and that’s the 747," said James Albaugh, head of Boeing’s commercial plane unit.
It marked the first appearance of a new version of the passenger jet since the first jumbo, with its humped two-story cabin and 196-foot (69-metre) wingspan, which attracted widespread interest in 1968.
The 747 lost its crown as the world’s largest airliner when the 525-seat Airbus A380 was unveiled in 2005. But at 19 feet longer than its predecessors, this one will be the longest.
It is the first time the 747 fuselage has been stretched to make the biggest passenger jet marketed by a US manufacturer.
Production of the new 747 has been delayed as the 787 Dreamliner, a carbon-composite plane which represents a bigger leap in technology than the revamped 747-8, diverts engineering time.
The list price is US$317.5 million.
By David Wilkening
David
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