Decision on Boeing 747 to be made soon

Airline Industry Information, April 29, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

US aircraft maker Boeing Co's interim president, James A. Bell, has said that the future of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet will be decided by the end of August.

Following the maiden flight of the Airbus A380, which tops the Boeing 747 as the world's biggest passenger jet, Bell said that the 747 will probably remain in production only if customers show interest in a larger, more efficient model called the 747 Advanced. The new model would carry some 450 passengers, about 30 more than the 747-400, the only model of the series in production.

Boeing currently has 28 orders for 747s, 20 of them freighters, and the last order for a passenger version of the 747 was in 2002, reported The Associated Press.

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