Boeing Co. is halting plans to develop "superjumbo" versions of its 747 jets, deciding it's too risky to spend up to $7 billion on planes that aren't in demand.
The company instead will concentrate on more long-range, medium-size airplanes such as the twin-engine 767 and 777. Boeing has plans for longer-range versions of both those aircraft, said Mike Bair, spokesman for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group.For months, Boeing has delayed a long-expected announcement that it would begin developing the 747-500 and 747-600 - larger and longer-range versions of its workhorse 747-400 jumbo jet.
Company executives said the orders simply weren't there and on Monday all but abandoned efforts on the new planes, at least in the near future. Development costs were estimated at up to $7 billion, but Bair declined to say how much Boeing has spent to date.
Bair said that many of the approximately 1,000 people working on the new aircraft would be "reassigned and on something productive as soon as possible" and that he expects no layoffs.
The proposed 747-500X would seat 490 people and carry them up to 10,200 miles, up from the 747-400's 420-passenger capacity and its 8,200-mile range. The proposed 747-600X could carry 500 to 550 passengers about 8,500 miles.
Many analysts had expected Boeing to announce the program's launch at the Farnborough air show in England last September, with the understanding the first planes would be delivered by December 2000. But Boeing held off because it hadn't lined up enough customers.
Last month, Ron Woodard, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group president, cautioned that the earliest the plane might be in service was late 2001 - and only then if orders for the planes were placed soon.
Boeing's European archrival, Airbus Industrie, has remained enthusiastic about developing its own superjumbo, an all-new aircraft called the A3XX, capable of carrying 550-650 passengers. But Boeing has long been skeptical that the demand was there.
Realistically, Woodard said, only about 10 airlines in the world would order the larger 747s, carriers that fly long intercontinental routes. Boeing had forecast demand for superjumbos to top out at about 450 planes, whereas more than 1,000 747-400s have been delivered to date.