Published January 2004

7E7 aims for efficiency, comfort

SCBJ Staff

In announcing its approval to offer the 7E7 to airlines, Boeing in December introduced its first new jet since the 777 in the early ’90s. And in the Dreamliner, the aerospace company is pushing for a more fuel-efficient plane that offers passengers comfort and convenience.

“The 7E7 is all about taking passengers where they want to go, when they want to go there, more comfortably and affordably than ever before,” said Alan Mulally, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “At the same time, it will provide airlines with unprecedented operating economics and efficiencies.”

Using new technologies developed by Boeing and its international technology team, plans call for a family of airplanes made primarily from lightweight composite materials, with the 7E7 base and stretch model carrying between 200 and 250 passengers in tri-class configurations on routes between 8,800 and 8,300 nautical miles, respectively. A shorter-range 7E7 is planned to accommodate nearly 300 passengers in a two-class configuration and be optimized for routes of 3,500 nautical miles.

Along with bringing “big-jet ranges to midsize airplanes,” the 7E7 will travel at speeds similar to today’s fastest wide bodies while using 20 percent less fuel for comparable trips, according to Boeing. Airlines also can expect between 40 to 60 percent more cargo revenue capacity.

For passengers, Boeing’s 7E7 will come with Connexion, Boeing’s aerial Internet service; larger windows; bigger bins for storing luggage; restrooms that include diaper changing stations; and a more pleasant interior environment, with increased humidity and higher air pressure.

Boeing said it plans to build about 37 percent of the plane in-house, from its Frederickson plant south of Tacoma to divisions in Oklahoma, Kansas, Canada and beyond.

The rest of the plane will come from outside suppliers, including Fuji Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan; Vought Aircraft Industries of Dallas, Texas; and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy.

Boeing still needs to decide on suppliers for the remaining 4 percent of the plane, including doors, said Mike Bair, a Boeing senior vice president who is heading the 7E7 program. A decision on who will supply the 7E7’s engines also is expected in 2004.

For Everett, where Boeing has said it will assemble the plane, the 7E7 will mean 800 to 1,200 Boeing jobs, with the potential of a similar number of new jobs at companies supplying parts for the Dreamliner.

But first the company must secure customers for the plane. Once those are in place, a formal decision to launch the 7E7 program could follow within six to nine months. Production of the first 7E7 could begin in 2006, with the first delivery following in 2008.

For Boeing, the 7E7 is more than just a new plane; it’s the next chapter in commercial aviation.

“This airplane will allow us to continue to set the standard for commercial aviation in the second century of flight,” Mulally said.

Related: 7E7 lands in Everett

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