I wasn't surprised to read that Boeing is boosting the production of its 777. The 777 is an awesome plane and it has been really successful with airlines from all over the world. But I was a bit stunned to read that Boeing is also increasing its 747-8 production. I am not a big fan of the 747-8, since I don't really understand why you would need a plane like it at all. I don't understand its unique selling point. The 747-8's design is a bit obsolete and it looks like a 747-200 with new engines (and apparently a fly-by-wire system). To me, it is just a "we need to build a successor of the 747-400" plane to compete with Airbus's A380. Airlines feel this way too. Only two passenger airlines (Korean Air and Lufthansa) have ordered the 747-8 so far and demand is less than expected. For a while, Boeing even considered axing the passenger version of the new jumbo jet altogether. Well, we'll see if the 747-8 turns out to be a success. Several dozen freighter versions have been sold already.To read the Bloomberg piece, please click here.
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