Boeing’s X factor to debut in 2018

Boeing’s X factor to debut in 2018

The first Boeing 777X aircraft is expected to take over the assembly line used to build 787 Dreamliners, as the manufacturer hurries to implement the new long-range jets by 2018, a Boeing executive has revealed.

The news comes as Larry Loftis, vice president in charge of the Dreamliner project, told The Seattle Times a temporary extra assembly line currently used for Dreamliner manufacturing will shut down at the end of the year to be converted to use for the early production of the forthcoming 777X jet, which is reportedly expected to take to the skies for commercial use by 2020.

Boeing vice president for the 777X aircraft, Bob Feldmann, told the paper “after the surge line is cleared out, the assembly bay will become the base for low-rate initial production of the 777X.”

“The first 777X will go down that new line in 2018,” Feldmann confirmed.

Meanwhile, The Australian Business Traveller reports the manufacturer has yet to finalise the design configuration for the Boeing 777X, but is expected to be the “world’s next great airplane”, according to Feldmann, the website reports.

According to Ausbt, Emirates leads the way with 35 orders for the 777-8s and 115 orders for 777-9s in the new aircraft series which it says has been promoted as “the largest and most efficient twin-engine commercial jet in the world, with the lowest operating cost per seat of any commercial airplane”.

The website states its improved design and new-generation engines will enable the planes to burn less fuel than the current range of 777 jets.

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