Boeing yesterday said it expected demand for 80 of its 747-8 Intercontinental model, which is pitched in the market against the Airbus A380.
So far, the only regional customer for the 747-8 is Emirates' Sky Cargo with 10 freighter versions on order, out of the 78 announced orders as of December 31, 2006, by the Seattle-based planemaker.
"Worldwide, we are working on getting additional orders for the aircraft, for which we would be in talks with more than 15 airlines this year. They are in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
"However, we cannot specifically name our potential customers," Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' Vice-President for Sales, Marketing and InService Support for the 7478 programme, told Emirates Today.
To be sure, the two Middle East airlines that have expressed keen interest in the 747-8 in the past include Emirates and Saudi Arabian Airlines. "Our sales objectives for this year are quite simple. We are looking at expanding our order base for both passenger and freighter versions," said Tinseth.
Not divulging any specific details about its Middle East orderbook, Tinseth said that Boeing expects a demand base of "80 airplanes from the Middle East over the next 20 years", out of the worldwide demand of 990 airplanes.
Last year Boeing fetched revenue of $114.8 billion (Dh421.5bn) in terms of orders. It received net orders of 729 aircraft (all Boeing family) from 48 customers, according to Tinseth.
However, since the launch of the A380, Boeing claims to have acquired 24 customers for the 747 aircraft as against 15 for the A380, besides 167 orders leaving Airbus with 166.
Of the 78 announced orders for the 747-8, passenger version accounts for only 24 of them - 20 by Lufthansa and four VIP aircraft - and the rest were freighters.
While the first 747-8 freighter is expected due for delivery in September 2009, the first passenger aircraft would only be spotted in the skies more than a year later - "late 2010", according to Tinseth.
Overall, however, Boeing expects to deliver 440-445 aircraft this year.
The United States planemaker expects the worldwide passenger traffic to grow by five per cent, and in the Middle East by 5.5 per cent, over the course of the next 20 years.
"The Middle East's gross domestic product is expected to grow at 4.1 per cent, which is faster than the rate of world's GDP at three per cent," said Tinseth.
Wing to wing
While the A380 can seat 555 passengers, Boeing's 747-8 is designed to have 467 seats.
Comparing the two wide-body aircraft, Tinseth pointed out that the engines on-board the 747-8 are "four per cent more efficient" than those of the A380.
"The 747-8 is 16 per cent more fuel efficient with a 30 per cent smaller noise footprint. For every 10 cent increase in fuel price, savings with the 747-8 increase by $653,000 (Dh2.4 million) per year over the A380," said Tinseth.
"The aircraft has the lowest operating costs of any large passenger jet," he added.
By Shweta Jain
© Emirates Today 2007
