Transaearo has had an MOU (memorandum of understanding) for four 747-8Is in with Boeing for a while now, but little has been heard about firming them up. Some were starting to think it will never happen. Well, just recently in an interview with ATW, Transaero CEO Olga Pleshakova stated they'll have their four new 747-8Is in 2015, and they'll use them in a premier heavy layout similar to Lufthansa. A couple interesting things come from this:
- These four frames could be the other four commitments in this story, meaning there's another customer new to the 747 ready to buy other frames beyond the eleven mentioned.
- Could Transaero be taking line 1435 (RC021) after it gets refurbished? They're happily taking early 787 models, so it's a possibility. I really don't want line 1435 going to waste as a BBJ.
I don't think the Transaero MOU is the same as the commitments in the other story. The king5 story that you reference mentions that the unannounced customer has never operated the 747 before. Transaero has operated older model 747s for a while now. They used to operated a 747-200 and currently operated the 747-300s and the 747-400.
ReplyDeleteThis leads me to believe that the Boeing has possibly lined up a different potential new operator for the 747-8i. One can only hope.
I agree, I believe the King5 story said that the commitments were from this year, and the Transaero commitment was from 2011. Like you said, one can hope that the report is accurate and that there are indeed another 4 commitments from a new operator.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Boeing is cutting 747 production again, down to 1.5 planes per month
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-18/boeing-cuts-747-8-output-again-as-jumbo-jet-sales-slump.html
Yes, but it also appears as though they are pushing forward with the ongoing improvements and Project Ozark.
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303680404579143660854561816
Also, it appears that the author of that article has tweeted the following:
"Later this year, 747-8 will be 3.5% better than the in 2011. 1.8% fuel burn, 7,600lbs lighter, tail tanks reactivated"
Additionally there is probably some gain in the FMS update and some factor in the increased maximum weights.
Ah, that link won't work directly it seems. One should Google "Boeing Plans Further Cut in 747 Jumbo Production wsj" and you should be able to read the article.
ReplyDelete