Tag Archives: Boeing 777-9X

Boeing signs a formal agreement with two key Japanese partners for the new 777-8X and 777-9X

Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) and key Japanese partners today (July 23) signed a formal agreement for significant work on Boeing’s new 777X airplane.

The agreement finalizes last year’s announcement by Boeing, Japan Aircraft Industries (JAI) and Japan Aircraft Development Corporation (JADC) of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to provide approximately 21 percent of the major airplane structure components for the 777X. The contract includes fuselage sections; center wing sections; pressure bulkhead; main landing gear wells; passenger, cargo and main landing gear doors; wing components and wing-body fairings.

JAI consists of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), ShinMaywa Industries (SMIC) and NIPPI Corporation (NIPPI). JADC is a non-profit foundation established to enhance the competitiveness of the Japanese aircraft industry.

Boeing has partnered with Japanese aerospace companies for nearly five decades to develop and manufacture the Next-Generation 737, 737 MAX, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787 Dreamliner, and now the 777X.

In 2014, Boeing purchased more than $5 billion of goods and services in Japan, supporting tens of thousands of aerospace jobs. With this agreement in place, the company expects to purchase a total of approximately $36 billion of goods and services from Japan between 2014 and the end of the decade.

Building on the passenger-preferred and market-leading 777 family of airplanes, the 777X family includes the 777-8X and the 777-9X, both designed to respond to market needs and customer preferences. The 777X program currently has 306 firm orders from six customers. Production is set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2020.

Image: Boeing.

Qatar Airways finalizes its order for 50 Boeing 777-9Xs

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) and Qatar Airways (Doha) have finalized an order for 50 777-9Xs, valued at $18.9 billion at current list prices. The 777X order, first announced as a commitment at the 2013 Dubai Airshow, was part of the largest product launch in commercial jetliner history.

In addition, the airline announced a commitment for 50 additional 777-9X purchase rights. If exercised, that would take Qatar’s 777X order tally to 100 airplanes valued at $37.7 billion at list prices.

Qatar Airways also announced their intent to order four 777 Freighters and options for four more, with a combined value of $2.4 billion at list prices.

The 777X will introduce the latest technologies including the most advanced commercial engine ever – the GE9X by GE Aviation – and an all-new high efficiency composite wing that has a longer span than today’s 777. The 777X family includes the 777-8X and the 777-9X, both designed to respond to market needs and customer preferences.

The 777-9X will be 12 percent more fuel efficient than any competing airplane, necessary in today’s competitive environment. The 777-8X is 5 percent more efficient than its competitor at all ranges while providing for new network opportunities. Design of the 777X is underway and production is set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2020. To date, the 777X has accumulated 300 orders and commitments from six customers worldwide.

Image: Boeing.

Qatar Airways:

Cathay Pacific orders 21 Boeing 777-9X airplanes

Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong) and Boeing (Chicago) today announced the airline’s decision to become Asia’s first 777X customer with an order for 21 777-9X airplanes, as part of Cathay’s future long-haul fleet strategy. The order is valued at more than $7 billion at current list prices.

The 777X program was launched at the Dubai Airshow last month where it garnered a record 259 orders and commitments worth $95 billion at list prices. The 777X currently stands as the largest product launch in commercial jetliner history by value and is targeted for first delivery in 2020.

Advanced technology including a new composite wing, all-new engines and superior aerodynamics will result in the incredible fuel efficiency promised by the 777X family. The 777-9X, with 400 seats, will be the largest and most efficient twin-engine commercial jet in the world with the lowest operating cost per seat of any commercial airplane and no competitor in its market segment.

Hong Kong’s flag carrier operates 55 777s, including 38 777-300ERs and an all-Boeing freighter fleet that includes 13 747-8 Freighters.

Image: Boeing.

Cathay Pacific:

Lufthansa orders 34 Boeing 777-9Xs and 25 Airbus A350-900s

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) as expected, placed orders for 34 Boeing 777-9Xs and 25 Airbus A350-900s. The group issued issued this statement:

Following a recommendation by the Deutsche Lufthansa AG Executive Board headed by Dr Christoph Franz, the Supervisory Board approved the purchase of 59 ultra-modern aircraft for the Group at its meeting. 34 Boeing 777-9Xs (above) and 25 Airbus A350-900s (below) will be added to the Lufthansa Group’s wide-body fleet. The first of these new aircraft will be delivered as early as 2016. Older Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A340-300s will be phased out by 2025. The new airplanes will primarily serve to replace existing aircraft at Lufthansa.

The investment amount for the Lufthansa Group’s latest order totals EUR 14 billion at list prices and is the largest single private-sector investment in the history of German industry. “This investment will safeguard about 13,000 jobs at Lufthansa alone as well as thousands of jobs at our partners in aviation and other suppliers”, said Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the Lufthansa Group, explaining the macroeconomic significance of the investment at a press conference in Frankfurt.

This investment in new technology, efficiency and customer comfort is a continuation of the ongoing fleet modernization that is taking place at the Group’s airlines. Lufthansa operates a wide-body fleet of around 107 aircraft, among them ten ultra-modern Airbus A380s and nine Boeing 747-8s as well as the Airbus A330-300 (18 aircraft). The fleet also includes Airbus A340s (48) and Boeing 747-400s (22). In addition to these, the Group subsidiary Swiss has 31 wide-body airplanes, while Austrian Airlines’ wide-body fleet consists of 12 aircraft.

The aim is to reduce the number of different models and fleet complexity in the Passenger Airline Group segment and also replace existing aircraft with state-of-the-art airplanes. In March, the Group approved the purchase of around 100 short and medium-haul aircraft. This order included six new Boeing 777-300 ERs for Swiss, which are also intended to replace older Airbus A340-300s at the airline.

The new aircraft will be operated by ultra-modern, powerful, low-noise engines – the Airbus A350 by the Rolls-Royce ‘Trent XWB 84’ engine and the Boeing 777-9X by General Electric’s ‘GE-9X’ model. The noise footprint of the new models will be at least 30 per cent lower than today’s aircraft.

Lufthansa: