Boeing 747: Four new orders for state-of-the-art 747-8 received

Despite an overall decrease in plane sales and competition from other huge aircraft such as the Airbus A380, Boeing said recently that it has received four new orders for its 747 aircraft. For the unitiated out there, these are Boeing’s large double-decker airplanes that fly some of the world’s longest routes.

Bloomberg said Boeing estimated the orders at about $1.5 billion but declined to name who purchased the planes. A single entity acquired the four aircraft, however, and helped Boeing quickly double its 2015 sales.

The news outlet said each Boeing 747-8, the model it appears was ordered, costs $379 million. Depending on the airline, the 747-8 can fit more than 400 seats and features an advanced cabin, new GEnx engines and nearly entirely new structure from that of the older 747-400. Due to its size, advanced technologies and range, the aircraft was selected in early 2015 to replace the existing 747-2 as the next Air Force One.

Despite the bump in orders for its 747-8, Boeing sold 176 airplanes last quarter, down from 184 during the same quarter last year, Bloomberg said.