Boeing ponders future of 787-3
4:00 AM Monday Jan 11, 2010
CHICAGO - Boeing is re-evaluating plans for a short-range version of its 787 airplane after the sole airline with pending orders went with other Boeing models instead.
Randy Tinseth, vice-president of marketing for Boeing's commercial airplanes division, wrote in a company blog that Boeing will "continue to assess the market viability" of the 787-3, a model that Boeing describes as a "super-efficient airplane" aimed at the middle of the market. Boeing said the plane used 20 per cent less fuel than other planes of its size, and seats 290 to 330 passengers and had a range of 4600 to 5612km.
Boeing has poured billions of dollars into developing the family of 787 jetliners, which feature radical departures from other planes in design to make the planes quieter, lighter and less fuel-thirsty. The initial flight of a 787 took place last month, two years behind schedule as the programme has been plagued by parts problems and delays.
The move to rethink the 787-3's future comes after Japan's All Nippon Airways converted its 787-3 orders into other models, a decision that left Boeing, based in Chicago, with no orders left for the plane in the company's backlog, Tinseth said.
Other models in the Boeing 787 family include the 787-8, which can carry 210 to 250 passengers with a range of 14,076 to 15,088km, and the 787-9, which can carry 250 to 290 passengers with a range of 14,720 to 15,640km.
-AP
