7E7 could cut curfew at KSA

The Australian

BOEING’s first new passenger jet model in 15 years has the potential to reduce the curfew at Sydney Airport.

Boeing claims the 7E7, due to begin flying commercially from 2008, could even signal the end of political wrangling over aircraft noise around the airport, the nation’s biggest.

“The area affected by the 7E7’s engines will be confined to the airport boundary,” said John Feren, a spokesman for the 7E7 program.

This compared with the 140sqkm area affected by the noise of the early Boeing 707 engines and the 34sqkm area affected by the 727. The engines of the Boeing 747 cut that to about 15sqkm.

According to industry sources, the 7E7 could operate into and out of Sydney Airport after the existing 11.30pm curfew, giving airlines much greater flexibility.

This would help the airport meet its forecast of a tripling in passenger numbers to 68.3 million a year by 2024 – 5 million more than currently handled at London’s Heathrow airport.

Industry sources suggest the 7E7’s quieter operations would allow an extension of night operations to 1am and a 5am start, an hour earlier than the existing morning curfew.

This would only be for takeoffs and landings over Botany Bay.

Airports such as Singapore and Hong Kong now operate 24 hours a day, making them more attractive to airlines.

The decision to ease curfews at Sydney Airport lies with the federal Government. No comment was available ahead of tomorrow’s election.

Boeing is already working with Air Services Australia and Qantas on a plan for aircraft, such as the existing Boeing 747, to approach the airport for landing on a constant descent profile – dubbed a low-energy landing – which reduces noise.

Boeing is pitching the 7E7 as a breakthrough development in aircraft engineering.

The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine is much quieter than its predecessors because it requires much less air through the core of the engine in ratio to the amount that goes around the core – dubbed the by-pass ratio – to create thrust.

It can carry up to 400 economy-class passengers as a short-range carrier or 265 passengers on long-haul international flights. With a maximum range of 15,700km, it could fly from Perth to London non-stop.

Boeing engineers are concerned that the 7E7 may be too quiet for passengers, with concerns expressed that the plane’s “library quiet” noise level means passengers would be able to overhear other conversations.