"Boeing touts 7E7 Dreamliner as future of aviation"

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Boeing touts 7E7 Dreamliner as future of aviation
By JAMEY KEATEN
The Associated Press


LE BOURGET, France - As its European rival basked in a record-setting order
for 41 planes, Boeing Co. laid out its vision Monday for retaking the lead
in the fiercely competitive aviation industry: the newly christened 7E7
Dreamliner. 

At the Paris Air Show, Boeing executives confidently predicted the
fuel-efficient 200-seat jet is what customers will really want once the
aviation gloom lifts. 

But it was Airbus' signing of a $12.5 billion order for 41 jets - including
the much-heralded superjumbo - from the fast-rising Gulf carrier Emirates
that stole the limelight at the show. 

Airbus officials hailed the deal as the largest purchase of widebody jets,
both in price and number of planes. It included 20 four-engine A340s and 21
A380 superjumbos - Airbus' planned rival to the Boeing 747. 

"This will be our big order of the show," said John Leahy, head of Airbus'
commercial aircraft division. 

Including earlier deals, Dubai-based Emirates has ordered 43 A380s - by far
the largest of any airline customer - and expects to lease two more. The
double-decker jet is to enter service by 2006. 

With the announcement, Emirates offered new hope for a downtrodden industry
after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the SARS
virus outbreak and global economic malaise. 

Airbus has received 116 firm orders from eight customers for the A380. 

The order was a new vote of confidence for Airbus' vision for the
superjumbo. Boeing executives, however, insist the aviation market cannot
absorb the hundreds of A380s Airbus hopes to deliver. 

"They'll want to celebrate now while they can, before they start having to
deliver them (the A380s)," said Randy Baseler, vice president for marketing
at Boeing's commercial jets division. 

In an industry forecast released Monday, Boeing predicted airlines will
invest $1.9 trillion in new commercial jets over the next 20 years, but only
26 percent will have two aisles or more. Only 4 percent would be as large or
bigger than the 747. 

The Chicago-based company projected the worldwide fleet of planes would
double to more than 34,000 jets by 2022. 

Boeing also presented its vision for the industry once the economic picture
brightens. 

In a challenge to Airbus' superjumbo focus, Boeing executives insisted their
planned 200-seat Dreamliner is what airline customers will be looking for. 

The 7E7, expected to begin operating in 2008, is the fuel-efficient heir to
the ill-fated Sonic Cruiser Boeing championed at the Paris show two years
ago as a speedy commercial jet. The project was shelved last year after
Boeing determined its customers wanted fuel efficiency more than speed. 

The Dreamliner is designed to be made almost entirely with advanced
composite materials, which are lighter and more resistant to moisture than
aluminum. It is expected to be about 20 percent more fuel efficient than
current jet models. 

Boeing expects there is a market for between 2,000 and 3,000 7E7s over the
next 20 years. 


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