Future of legendary 747 may hang on Russian cargo carrier

Originally published December 15, 2015 at 4:07 pm Updated December 16, 2015 at 10:10 am

Landing gear assemblies for a 747-8 stand beside a 747 at the final assembly factory in Everett. (MIke Siegel/The Seattle Times)

As Boeing weighs the 747’s fate and moves toward producing just one every month, a revival hinges heavily on an unlikely source: a Russian freight company that promises to buy 18 over the next few years.

By Julie Johnsson

Andrea Rothman

Bloomberg News

Time is running out for Boeing’s iconic 747 jumbo jetliner, the plane that brought global travel to the masses in the 1970s.
The storied 747 has fallen from favor in the modern airline industry as carriers turn to twin-engine aircraft that can fly farther and use less fuel, like Boeing’s own 777 or the Airbus A350. Sales of the cavernous freight model have waned as well, done in by an eight-year slump in global air shipping.
The plane can’t even catch a break in Washington. An order to replace the quarter-century-old 747s used as Air Force One to ferry U.S. presidents is running into congressional budget flak.
Now, as Boeing weighs the 747’s future, a revival hinges heavily on an unlikely source: a Russian freight company that promises to buy 18 over the next few years. If that pledge falls through — and finding financing won’t be easy — Boeing faces a tough choice: End production and take a financial hit, or try to limp along until a cargo rebound yields more sales.

 

For now, Boeing’s backlog is enough to keep building 747s only through mid-2017.