Should The 747-8I Be Bigger Or Longer-Legged?

Boeing is currently facing a dilemma that rival Airbus would dearly love to have. Several airlines want different variants of its newly enlarged 747.

When Boeing announced it would be stretching its classic 747 to carry 450 passengers, last November, Emirates was happy to hear it. 

The new Boeing 747-8I (for International) 450 passenger design looked to be an ideal model to fit a slot between Boeing's 777 and the often-delayed, much larger Airbus A380.

But then Boeing decided to sretch the -8I just a little bit longer to match the contours of the new freighter version it is also building. The new model would carry 467. And that has Emirates not so happy.

Flight International reports Emirates president Tim Clark says "We have made it clear to Boeing that we prefer the [original] stretch because of its greater range at maximum payload."

Emirates already has on order twenty stretched 747-8Fs for its cargo arm. It also is by far the largest customer for Airbus's trouble-plagued A380 superjumbo, and if it decides to cancel that order, Boeing would be in an ideal position to sell even more of its products.

But the extra-stretched 747 design would have slightly less range. Emirates would prefer the long legs, instead.

British Airways, on the other hand, is in the market for the 747-8I and doesn't need quite the range It likes the longer 467-passenger model.

Decisions... decisions... Boeing, of course, could just offer both versions of the 747 Intercontinental, but that would reduce its productivity and profit margin. It could also arrange to add auxiliary tanks, but Boeing says "right now the focus is on how to get the lowest operating costs and the best economics while fulfilling a normal range of 8,000nm."

FMI: www.boeing.com