New Boeing Could Harm Paris Orly Airport Mon Apr 11, 2005 03:12 PM ET Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS Top News American Contractor Kidnapped in Iraq Bush Cautions Sharon Against Settlement Growth Police Tackle Man Who Caused Alert at U.S. Capitol MORE PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing Co.'s (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) B777-300ER airplane could damage the runways of Paris's Orly airport by exerting too much pressure, especially at take-off, Paris airports operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) said on Monday. Air France KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) has ordered seven such planes -- an investment of more than 1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) -- to replace its Boeing 747 planes and fly from Orly to France's overseas territories in the summer of 2007, La Tribune newspaper reported. ADP said the B777-300ER, a new version of the Boeing 777, was lighter than the Boeing 747 or EADS's (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) upcoming Airbus A380 jumbo jet, but its mass was centered on 12 wheels compared with 22 for the Airbus A380. Such concentrated pressure could ruin the runways, ADP said. ADP said it had begun discussions with Air France to find a solution. The cost of strengthening the runways could be high and the work lengthy, La Tribune said. For Air France, switching overseas territories flights to Paris's Roissy airport could cannibalize some future expected capacity, La Tribune said. ($1=.7801 Euro) Roger EWROPS