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Boeing To Launch Bigger 747

In a move that will no doubt add to the competitive pressure between it and rival Airbus, Boeing Co. is launching a bigger, more efficient version of its 747 jumbo jet. The Chicago-based company announced late Monday that Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International SA has placed orders for 10 freighter versions of the new airplane, dubbed the 747-8, with purchase rights for 10 more. Nippon Cargo Airlines has ordered eight of the freighter planes, with options for six more. Both airlines will begin receiving the planes during the last half of 2009.

The combined orders from both companies are worth $5 billion at list prices, although airlines typically negotiate, and receive, generous discounts. "We are thrilled to have Cargolux and Nippon Cargo choose the new 747-8 and become the launch customers for this next generation of the proud and valuable 747 airplane family," Alan Mulally, head of Boeing`s Seattle-based commercial airplanes division, says in a statement.

The new passenger version of Boeing`s four-engine widebody airplane will seat 450 people, an increase from 416 in the current model, and will have a new, redesigned interior. It will be almost 12 feet longer than the current 747, and capable of flying 9,200 miles. The freighter version will be about 18 feet longer than the current freighter model, the 747-400.