Hopes To Certify 777X Under Amended Type Certificate

Boeing's three airplanes currently in development are "the future of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, according to Scott Fancher, the planemaker's senior vice president for airplane development.

MSN reports that Fancher said the 787-9, 777X, and 737 MAX airplanes could account for as much as half of the company's commercial airplane business over the next 20 years.

Boeing is redesigning the cockpits of the 777X and 737 MAX as copies of the Dreamliner cockpit, and said it will ask the FAA for common pilot type certification in the 777-300ER, 777X, and the 787. If granted, it would allow pilots to move between the airplanes with as little as five days of additional training.

Boeing is also asking the FAA to certify the 777X under an amended type certificate with the existing models of the triple-7. Fancher said the design of the new model is "very stable." Jim Hass, Boeing's director of product marketing, said the 777X may eventually be re-branded as the 797, and given a "Dreamliner-like" name.

In the single-aisle category, Boeing says the 737 MAX will be 14 percent more fuel efficient than existing variants of the 737. The company plans to produce 47 of the airplanes per month by 2017, up from the current 42 per month.

FMI: www.boeing.com