Boeing gets $1.5b surprise with new 747 Jumbo jet orders

Boeing landed new four orders valued at $1.5b for its 747 jumbo jetliners, giving life to a program starved for sales amid waning demand for four-engine aircraft. The orders were reported on Boeing’s website Thursday and the identity of the customer wasn’t disclosed. The US planemaker also reported that it delivered fewer jetliners than a year earlier as it navigates transitions for two long-range aircraft: the hump-nosed 747 and the 767.<br/>The new sales provide a much-needed lift for the 747-8, the latest model in a jetliner family that debuted in 1970 and ushered in an era of affordable long-range travel for the mass consumer market. Last year Boeing netted only two orders for the aircraft, which have a $379 million list price. The company has repeatedly slowed the 747 assembly line, most recently to an output of six jets a year, as the order book thinned. Boeing had 23 unfilled jumbo orders as of March, although the tally includes two planes already built for defunct Russian carrier Transaero Airlines that are in storage.<br/>