Lufthansa Urges Boeing To Stretch 747 By Jens Flottau Europe's third largest airline, Lufthansa, asked Boeing to look at developing a bigger, more modern 747-400, as the airline starts looking at its long-term fleet plans. "We would like to see a stretched version of the 747, somewhat lower operating cost and incorporating some systems changes," Lufthansa's Senior VP- Corporate Fleet Nico Buchholz told The DAILY. The airline expects it would need a 450-seat aircraft with the same range as today's -400. Lufthansa flies 30 747-400s and will take delivery of 12 350-seat Airbus A340-600s and 15 550-seat A380-800s during the next few years. The current 747 seats 400 in Lufthansa's layout, but the airline would like to shift the 747's capacity closer to the A380's and further away from the A340-600's. Buchholz said Lufthansa doesn't expect Boeing to develop a new wing, but to improve environmental performance and make the plane more maintenance-friendly. "Boeing has to discuss with airlines how to extend the aircraft's market potential by another 20 years," Buchholz said. Lufthansa would only be interested if it could be reasonably assured of acceptable resale values. The aircraft would have to be significantly quieter and cleaner than today's 747. While Lufthansa recently ordered more aircraft from Airbus, Buchholz said, "We want to keep two manufacturers in the system, but reduce complexity at the same time." To achieve that, Lufthansa is looking at allocating manufacturers to specific subsidiaries (Thomas Cook, Lufthansa mainline) or hub versus non-hub flying. The carrier already pulled 12 737s out of the European system and allocated them on pure domestic point-to-point services outside its Frankfurt and Munich hubs. Buchholz is optimistic about Boeing's planned 7E7. While Lufthansa "has pressed for the reference aircraft in the Sonic Cruiser debate...the 7E7 definitely makes sense on long-haul and short-haul routes," he said. In his view, the long-haul version should seat around 250, but the aircraft "has to be backed by a family concept." Meanwhile, the airline plans to make its long-awaited decision on a large regional jet order by the summer. Lufthansa and European Star Alliance members such as Austrian Airlines, along with Air Canada, have joined forces to buy 70- to100 seat regional jets. Lufthansa put off deciding how to replace its original Fairchild Dornier 728 order from late last year, following market uncertainties. The Star carriers plan to develop common aircraft specs but will still order the jets themselves. "We have a requirement for a 90- to 100-seater. Bombardier knows that they only cover part of what we need with their current portfolio," Buchholz said, discounting the manufacturer's slow-selling CRJ-900. The Star Alliance group meets every two weeks to discuss proceedings. Roger EWROPS