Boeing 7E7
The Boeing 7E7, or Dreamliner, is a proposed mid-sized aeroplane by Boeing to be put into service in 2008. It will carry between 200 and 350 passengers depending on the seating configuration, and be more fuel-efficient than earlier airliners. The "E" of Boeing 7E7, which most probably will not be the final name of the aircraft, stands for "efficiency".The 7E7 design has replaced the earlier Sonic Cruiser that was offered as Boeing's answer to the Airbus A380 mega-airliner. In fact, it appears that the Sonic Cruiser, a new generation of high speed subsonic passenger aircraft after the (supersonic) Concorde, existed only in artwork and no engineering had actually taken place. Many commentators suggested it was a trial balloon offered to test the waters for a higher-speed airliner. The design proved to be uninteresting to the airlines, and was generally ignored.
Instead, the Boeing teams turned to efficiency for their new design. The Airbus A320 had proved to be a major shock to the industry when its lower operating costs proved very popular, and many of the smaller airliners like the 737 and MD-80 proved unable to compete. The 7E7 appears to attempt to redress this by introducing a new design in the mid-size class with the same sort of lower operating costs. The 7E7 is designed to be some 10-15% more efficient on general routes than competing designs. The 7E7 is sized to be able to replace both the 757 and 767 on the production lines.
On December 16, 2003, it was announced construction would be done in Everett, Washington, employing 800 to 1,200 employees.
On April 6, 2004, Boeing announced that it had selected only two engine types, the General Electric GENX and Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 to power the 7E7. Significantly this leaves Pratt & Whitney unable to offer one of their own engines to 7E7 customers. Boeing may have wished to rely on two evolved versions of existing engines rather than the higher-risk option of an all new P&W engine. For the first time in commercial aviation, both engine types will have a standard interface with the aircraft, allowing any 7E7 to be fitted with either a GE or RR engine at any point in time. Engine interchangeability makes the 7E7 a far more flexible asset to airlines, allowing them to change from one manufacturer's engine to the other's in light of any future engine developments which conform more closely to their operating profile. The engine market for the 7E7 is estimated $40Bn over the next 25 years.
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| Similar Aircraft | Boeing 767 |
| Designation Series | 707 - 717 - 727 - 737 - 747 - 757 - 767 - 777 - 7E7 |
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