Despite rumors swirling around, Boeing claims that it is not trying to speed up the production of the Boeing 777x. The company denies trying to accelerate development to get an edge over Airbus. Boeing is sticking to its plan of delivering the Boeing 777x by 2020.
There was some confusion after a union leader said that labor contracts connected to the Boeing 777x project were driven by the company's desire to speed up development after Airbus started gaining an edge, Reuters reports.
However Marty Bentrott, senior vice president for international sales, says "there is not change of schedule." Bentrott made the announcement ahead of the Dubai Airshow.
Company officials refused to discuss information about orders for the air show from Nov. 17-21. However Bentrott did say that the 777x has been received "very positively" by major airlines including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.
In addition to the 777x, Bentrott says the company is aiming to resolve problems with the high-tech 787 Dreamliner within the next six months and changes are made to the aircraft's software.
Several airlines, including Qatar Airways and Norwegian Air have complained that the Boeing 787 is not reliable.
Among his other announcement, Bentrott believes the latest version of the Dreamliner, the 787-10, will be a big part of the Middle East's growing fleet of aircraft and he also believed the 737 MAX will do well.
According to industry courses, the 777X will be introduced at the opening of the Dubai Air Show on Sunday. There may be as many as 250 orders for the twin-engined plane. There is also expected to be an order of at least 30 Dreamliners and 75 orders for the 737 MAX.
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