Two of the three big European airline groups are finalizing major long-haul fleet renewal campaigns and will have two key choices to consider, now that Boeing is close to offering its 777X. The aircraft will be going head-to-head with the Airbus A350 as it enters its first high-profile competition, but it could be overshadowing one of its own offerings, the 747-8, as well. The main driver is the retirement of the Boeing 747-400 fleets of Lufthansa and International Airlines Group (IAG) unit British Airways (BA). Air France-KLM is the only one of the major European carriers operating a large fleet of 777-300ERs. What is becoming increasingly clear is that the proposed 777X not only competes with the A35O, it also threatens to make Boeing's own 747-8 redundant.
展开▼
