Boeing Co, the world's second-biggest maker of commercial planes, is looking to airlines in India, the Middle East and Asia to sell its 777-200LR model, as losses at North American carriers force them to cut orders.
"We think there is demand for 200 passenger versions of the plane and 200 of the freighter model," said Boeing's 777 program chief Lars Andersen in an interview yesterday in Hong Kong.
Sales of the 777-200LR, the world's longest-range aircraft, have been hurt as losses at North American airlines and surging fuel costs reduce the need for a plane that can fly non-stop for up to 17,445km -- 10 percent further than the A340-500 made by Airbus SAS.
The airlines of India and China may be the world's biggest aircraft buyers in the next two decades, as they renew their fleets and expand to cater for increasing demand for air travel.
Chinese airlines may need 1,790 planes valued at US$230 billion by 2023, while India-based carriers may buy 570 planes, Airbus said in March.
US carriers, including UAL Corp's United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc and AMR Corp's American Airlines, were the 777-200LR's main sales targets. They've struggled to stay solvent since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which also delayed the aircraft's introduction. To bolster its sagging sales, Chicago-based Boeing is promoting the aircraft to Asian carriers.
"A 777 suits carriers in India because they need planes that can fly non-stop to the US or Australia," said Kapil Kaul, the New Delhi-based chief executive of the India unit of the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation. "There is a very large pool of Indians who want to fly such long distances."
Boeing has orders for five 777-200LRs from EVA Airways Corp (長榮) and Pakistan International Airlines and is in talks to sell cargo versions of the plane to EVA Airways, Andersen said.
EVA Airways ordered three passenger versions of the 777-200LR aircraft and is in talks to buy 10 of the cargo-carrying versions of the plane to replace its MD11 and Boeing 747-400 freighters. EVA will take delivery of the passenger planes in 2008, said company official Katherine Ko (柯文玲), without giving further details.
The Boeing 777-200LR can carry as many as 301 passengers in standard three-class seating and has a list price of up to US$225.5 million.
The Airbus A340-500, used by Singapore Airlines Ltd on its 18-hour non-stop flight to New York, can carry 313 passengers and costs as much as US$211 million each.
Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has delivered 660 A330 and A340 planes out of 908 orders received. As many as 655 of the two models are still in operation, according to the Airbus Web site, without giving other details.
Long-distance flights may be in demand. Singapore Airlines, which operates the world's longest flight to New Jersey's Newark airport from Singapore, has placed orders for 10 Airbus A340-500s.
Boeing's board approved the construction of a freighter version of the 777 aircraft in May, after the Air France-KLM Group ordered as many as eight of the planes valued at US$1.4 billion.
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