Boeing's 777X plans: Big windows, lots of air, and robot
manufacturing
The company is copying passenger-friendly details from
its 787 Dreamliner into its upcoming 777X wide-body passenger jet, the company
announces at the Farnborough airshow.
by Stephen Shankland
July 15, 2014 4:00 AM PDT
FARNBOROUGH, UK -- Passenger-friendly interior details
like big windows, clean air, and comfortably high cabin pressure that Boeing
introduced with its 787 Dreamliner will also come to its larger long-haul
sibling, the 777X passenger jet due in 2020.
Boeing announced the details for the 777 successor here
at the Farnborough International Airshow, a premier event for the aviation
industry where aircraft manufacturers try to win over the world's airlines. In
addition, the company said it's bringing robotic manufacturing to some parts of
fuselage assembly for both the 777 and 777X, a move that should increase
production rates and quality.
The 787 Dreamliner family -- including the existing
242-passenger 787-8 and the new 787-9 that just started shipping -- has a range
of change designed to make passengers more comfortable. That includes large
windows that let more than just window-seat passengers see out; high ceilings
and reworked higher-capacity overhead bins; air-filtering systems that can
absorb odors like perfume; higher humidity; and cabin pressure that's the
equivalent of 6,000 feet above sea level, not the usual 8,000 feet. Among the
features that will move to the 777X will be the humidity, cabin pressure, and
large windows, said Scott Fancher, Boeing's senior vice president of airplane
development. It'll also get lower cabin noise by virtue of a quieter new engine
housing.
"One thing we learned from the 787 is the amazing
passenger experience -- the cabin altitude, the cleanliness, the openness and
airiness of the interior. We've learned from it and replicated it in the
777X," Fancher said. "From every seat in this airplane, the passenger
will see the horizon."
Some of the changes may seem cosmetic or simple, but they
aren't necessarily. Structural changes are necessary to accommodate larger
windows and the higher pressure from the 6,000-foot equivalent altitude. But
the prospect of happier passengers -- especially on the long trips up to 10,700
miles (17,220km) the 777-8X -- is a good argument for airplane salespeople to
use, and right now the market is fiercely competitive. Both Boeing and its
rival Airbus are scrambling to satisfy new demand from customers.
On the first day of the airshow, customers placed about
$41.9 billion worth of orders and commitments, triple the rate of the last
Farnborough show in 2012. "Prospects for the rest of the week are looking
extremely positive," show organizers said in a statement.
At least some of that demand is directed at the 777. Air
Lease Corp. said Tuesday it's ordered six of the current 777-300ER (extended
range) jets. But Boeing has to be more excited by last week's news that
Emirates Airline finalized its order for 150 777X jets. That's fully half of
the 300 orders so far, and at list prices is worth $56 billion.
Boeing is ramping up production to keep pace with
passenger-jet demand. For instance, its 787 manufacturing is moving from 10 per
month now to 14 per month in 2018.
A rendering of Boeing 777X's interior
Here come the robots
Helping the production-line speedup will be increased use
of robots for manufacturing, a move that follows the auto industry's footsteps.
Boeing is moving to a new assembly technology in which robots join some 777 and
777X fuselage panels together by drilling holes and attaching about 60,000
fasteners. A German company with a major presence in the auto industry, Kuka
Robotics, is supplying the robots.
Robots can improve quality and speed, and Boeing also
pointed to safety improvements: the process that's being automated is
responsible for more than half of worker injuries today, the company said.
Workers often aren't happy to be replaced by robots, but
those affected by the robotic assembly won't lose their jobs. Instead, they'll
be moved to other manufacturing jobs or to operating the robots, said company
spokesman Doug Alder.
The company already opened the door to robots in 2013,
using them to paint 737 wings. And it's accepted delivery of robots that will
automate 737 wing assembly.
Boeing plans to keep making 777 models for another six or
seven years, said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing's
commercial airplane division.
Other 777X improvements
Boeing and Airbus are steering away from major new
designs like the Airbus A350 XWB and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Instead,
they're moving toward updates to existing craft. Airbus announced its A330neo
on Monday, for example, a model that will be 14 percent more fuel-efficient
than the current A330 and can carry 10 more passengers. And Boeing's 737 Max is
20 percent more efficient than today's 737 and can carry 11 more passengers.
The 777X -- a placeholder name during the development and
testing phase -- is another such update. It's a lot more than just cabin
improvements and a fresh coat of paint, though.
Boeing says the 777X will have 12 percent better fuel
efficiency and 10 percent better operating costs than Airbus' A350-1000.
One big aspect of the 777X will be a technology called
hybrid laminar flow control. In laminar flow, a fluid or gas travels smoothly,
with none of the vortices and pressure differences characteristic of turbulent
flow.
"It's a competitive advantage for us," Fancher
said. "The longer that laminar flow length, the more efficient that
surface is. It's very economical, maintainable, supportable, and on our
airplanes."
The 787 uses hybrid laminar flow control on its tail
assembly's vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Fancher wouldn't detail where
it'll be used on the 777X, but said it's applicable to that same area. The
wings, though, won't get the technology, because anti-icing technology makes it
too complicated.
The 777X, announced in May 2013, will come in two
varieties, the 350-passenger 777-8X and the 400-passenger 777-9X. The
twin-aisle planes are wide-body models, but are two-engine craft that aren't as
big as the venerable four-engine 747 jet line.
The planes aren't an impulse buy: The 777-8X has a list
price of $350 million and the 777-9X $377 million.
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