“Airlines are very focused on an airplane that fits more than just a very small subset of markets, they want an airplane that has versatility and whether you’re Qantas or whether you’re an airline in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” Hulst said.
While there was much interest in the Boeing 777-8X for Qantas’s Project Sunrise challenge, as well as Air New Zealand’s interest for Auckland-New York nonstop service, in this part of the world, Hulst was keen to point out the 777-8X also had to have the flexibility to fulfil a range of missions required from other airline customers. “We are really happy and encouraged by the pace of development to this point in terms of the schedule, in terms of the technology, in terms of the progress.”
“I mean, we are kind of finalising the design weights and those things but it is pretty close to being firm,” Hulst told reporters on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Sydney on Sunday.
