Boeing Expects Record 777 Orders

SEATTLE (AP) â€” The flashiest development in the airplane market this year may be the number of orders Airbus Industrie of Europe has taken for its enormous A3XX jetliner. <br><br>But the Boeing Co. says

Tuesday, November 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SEATTLE (AP) â€” The flashiest development in the airplane market this year may be the number of orders Airbus Industrie of Europe has taken for its enormous A3XX jetliner.

But the Boeing Co. says just as important will be record orders for 777s.

The Seattle-based aircraft maker announced Monday it has received new orders for eight long-range 777-200ERs from Japan Airlines, and an order for 33 more was expected early this week from International Lease Finance Corp. of Los Angeles.

That would bring the number of orders for the 777 family this year to 113, worth around $170 million each for a total of more than $18 billion. It would be the largest number of 777 orders in one year since Boeing introduced the planes in 1990.

Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, says it has taken 86 orders this year for corresponding models in the two-engine A330 family and 17 orders in the four-engine A340 family. Twenty of those were ordered by International Lease Finance earlier this month.

A spokesman declined to comment on Boeing's orders, citing company policy.

``This airplane is the right airplane. It's a money maker,'' said Ida Hawkins, a spokeswoman for Boeing's 777 program. ``Passengers like the airplane; flight crews like the airplane.''

Boeing has bet that airlines are more interested in smaller, more efficient planes that have the range to bypass major hubs on their way to secondary cities. The 777-200ER can fly 8,800 miles while carrying up to 328 passengers in three classes.

Airbus believes a good way to clear crowded skies and reduce airport delays is to use bigger planes. The trumpeted A3XX, listed at $216 million each and designed to compete with Boeing 747s, will be able to carry 550 passengers 8,150 miles when production begins in 2006.

Boeing has derided the A3XX as redundant, saying there is no market for such a huge aircraft. As an alternative, Boeing is planning to extend its 747-400 to carry up to 416 passengers.

Hawkins says one reason orders for the 777 are up this year is that more airlines have seen them in flight. The planes were first delivered in 1995, and now 307 are in use around the world, Hawkins said.

Ninety-nine percent of 777 flights depart on time, she said, in part because they are efficient and require less last-minute maintenance.

Some of the 777's success, however, has come at the expense of other Boeing models. About 40 orders for 747-400s have been canceled in the past few years by clients opting for 777s instead.

In other Boeing news, the company announced Monday that a Boeing-led team may develop an airborne surveillance system for Turkey. Turkey's government has selected the team to begin negotiating a contract to develop the system.

Negotiations could begin early next year. The contract, expected to be worth more than $1 billion, would call for six new 737 aircraft with an option for one more, ground support segments and crew training.

The team also includes Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector, Havelsan, Turkish Airlines and Turkish Aerospace Industries.