A Boeing 777 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines taxis on the tarmac at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan (file). Emirates, the largest operator of the Boeing 777 aircraft, said the U S manufacturer is getting closer to offering a new version that will seek to defend its lead against Airbus in the wide-body market. Boeing will probably get backing from its board in coming weeks to begin offering the model, said Emirates President Tim Clark, without disclosing how he obtained the information. The Chicago-based planemaker has been talking with the Dubai company and other airlines about the plane’s specifications and should soon be in a position to begin “formal talks,” he said.  Boeing’s 777 is the centerpiece of its wide-body strategy, a lucrative segment of the civil aviation market that’s coming under fresh attack from Airbus and its new A350 model. Emirates has ordered a total of 139 777 planes, which seat about 365 people and cost $315 million at list price in the most popular variant. “There’s good news, I think they’re ready to go on that,” Clark said in Berlin yesterday. “I’m hoping in the next two to three weeks we’ll be able to start talking on a formal basis.”
Emirates has urged Boeing to move ahead with a new wide- body to succeed the 777-300ER. While the model is popular, it risks getting supplanted by the A350-1000 that Airbus is developing for entry into service in 2017. Clark said he may eventually need as many as 275 new 777s, of which 175 would replace aircraft in the fleet or scheduled for delivery and the additional models for growth.

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