Boeing’s new wide-body aircraft, 777X, is being showcased at a major aerospace exhibition in Dubai.
This moments marks the jet’s international debut as it prepares to fly commercially by the end of 2023.
The company is currently flying 4 models of the jet for testing, which Boeing claims to be the “world’s largest and most efficient twin-jet” aircraft, in preparation for commercial operations, Thomas Anderson, director of product marketing at Boeing stated.
Anderson said they have signed orders with eight customers globally, one of them is Dubai’s Emirates which is expecting to receive 126 777X jets.
Boeing is targeting airlines that operate specific wide-body fleets, replacing older jets with the new 777X series, he added.
“We are continuously talking to customers who are currently operating those fleets, as well as airlines who may have started with smaller aircrafts but are starting to grow,”
“When they start to get into the wide-body space, we will absolutely talk to them. Typically, they start with mid-size like the 787 class, and then eventually grow to this scale,”
Anderson said the Middle East, “by nature of its network,” is a big market for the 777X wide-body jets.
Despite the major upgrade in size, Boeing claims the 777X to be fuel efficient, especially amid a global push to reduce emissions of carbon-heavy industries.
Anderson said the new series will feature new technologies that bring down fuel burning capacity by 10 percent per seat.
He added the company is continuously researching ways to improve fuel economy of their aircrafts, including exploring hydrogen, alternative propulsions, and other modern techniques.
News Source: Arab News
