Deal For As Many As 10 Airplanes Reportedly In The Works

Boeing's 747 has fallen on some difficult times. The demand for four-engine airliners and freighters has eroded as more efficient aircraft take over long-haul routes, and the Boeing 747 production line has been hanging on by a thread, according to many analysts, in part until the company builds new Air Force One airplanes for the U.S. government.

But there may be 10-airplane deal in the works for the 747, and an announcement may come as soon as the Farnborough Air Show in a couple of weeks. The Seattle Times reports that AirBridgeCargo, a subsidiary of Moscow-based Volga-Dnepr Group, is in talks with Boeing about converting a commitment for 10 airplanes made a year ago into firm orders for the iconic airliner.

The airplanes would all be freighters. The hinged-nose haulers carry a list price of $379.1 million each ... but buyers rarely pay the list price. Still, the deal if it closes could tip the balance sheet at about $4 billion, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Volga-Dnepr is also a contractor for Boeing, carrying large segments of the 787 from suppliers to assembly lines in both Everett and South Carolina.

(Image from file)

FMI:  www.boeing.com