Boeing selects France's Thales, Labinal of Snecma Group for 7E7 Team

Boeing is adding Thales and Labinal -- a Snecma group company -- to its 7E7 Dreamliner team. Thales will provide the all-new airplane's electrical power conversion system and Labinal will provide wiring.

The two French companies are "great additions to the 7E7 team," said Mike Bair, Boeing's senior vice president of the 7E7. "The 7E7 is truly a global project. It's exciting to see so many brilliant people coming together for a common goal. We're making great progress together."

Yves Galland, president of Boeing France, added the selections of Thales and Labinal "underlines the development of Boeing in France and our desire to develop partnerships with the best companies in the world."

Thales and Labinal join France 's Messier-Dowty, also a Snecma group company, which is providing landing gear structure, and Dassault Systemes, provider of the program's product lifecycle management (PLM) software suite of tools. In addition, Latecoere is part of the 7E7 structures development team.

The Thales system will convert the electricity created by the engines at variable rates into the appropriate standard voltage required by various systems. The 7E7 uses a wider variety of voltage standards than any other airplane. The total electrical power onboard the aircraft will be more than one million watts.

"Our company is proud to be part of the 7E7 program," said Steve Grinham, director of the Business Line Electrical Systems from Thales, Aerospace Division. "The confidence expressed by Boeing through this selection will enhance our relationship and represents another milestone in our partnership."

Each 7E7 will have more than 330,000 feet of electrical wiring and cable. Although it is a more electric airplane, the 7E7 will use less wire than other airplanes because of its innovative use of new technologies.

The Labinal wiring will support the airplane's more-electric architecture, including the use of fiber optics and a high-speed data bus to support the data transmitting requirements of the airplane's numerous systems.

"We are delighted to have been selected for this major contract, which underscores the solid nature of our partnership with Boeing," said Labinal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Lepage. "This recognizes our technical, technological and industrial expertise, as well as the quality of our experience in aircraft wiring and electrical systems."

Launched in April 2004, the 7E7 is a family of three airplanes, all of which will use the same engine type. The 7E7-8 Dreamliner will carry 217 passengers in three-classes of seating with a range of up to 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 kilometers). The 7E7-3, a model of the 7E7-8 optimized for shorter flights, will carry 289 passengers in two-class seating on ranges up to 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 kilometers). The 7E7-9, a longer version of the 7E7-8, will carry 257 passengers in three classes with a range of 8,300 nautical miles (15,400 kilometers).