Boeing shelves super jumbo

The Boeing 747 has dominated the large jet market

Aerospace giant Boeing is putting development of its 747X superjumbo on hold.

The Seattle-based plane maker will focus instead on building a new mid-sized plane that will fly just below the speed of sound.

Company officials said there simply was not a market for the 747X in competition with the rival superjumbo, the European-built Airbus A380.

The A380 is set to succeed the Boeing 747 as the world's biggest passenger jet when it enters service later this decade.

Airbus has taken 66 orders for the 555-seat A380 since announcing the start of production last year, while Boeing has not taken a single order for the 747X.

Delta-wing jet

Sources say Boeing sales and marketing staff have become frustrated with the lack of customer interest in the 747X, which would add about 100 seats and more flight range to the current model 747-400.

I am surprised that Boeing is going for something so futuristic

Chris Yates, Jane's Aviation Security

Boeing recently said it was discussing with airline customers a triangle-shaped "delta-wing" plane that would carry about 250 passengers and cut transatlantic travel by 90 minutes compared to current subsonic flights.

Monopoly

The Boeing move means the A380 will enjoy the same lucrative monopoly that the US jumbo had for three decades.

But Boeing could gain a powerful advantage over Airbus the market for smaller planes, if it presses ahead with its new concept, which would fly about 15% faster than current civil aircraft.

Boeing is experimenting with delta-wing aircraft

"I am surprised that Boeing is going for something so futuristic," said British aviation expert Chris Yates, noting reports that Boeing planned a delta wing for the new plane.

Mr Yates, editor of Jane's Aviation Security, said Boeing's advantage would be noticeable only on longer trips.

"I cannot see any significant benefit from the increase in speed on short hops, below about four hours," he said.

'Excited'

Boeing Chairman Phil Condit last week said he was "excited" about the possibility of a new mid-sized jet that would fly at Mach .95, or 95% of the speed of sound, which is roughly 740 mph (1,200 kph), depending on temperature and altitude.

Current airliners fly at Mach .80 to Mach .86, except for Concorde, which flies at Mach 2 but which only saw limited production because of high operating costs.

The delta-wing plane, one of several designs included in a long-range program dubbed 20XX, would fly farther than the current 200-seat Boeing 757 and the 250-seat 767 and at higher altitude, meaning it could avoid slower-flying jets.

Pricing policy

Meanwhile, Boeing has abandoned a cut-throat pricing policy aimed at holding on to its once-commanding share of the commercial jet market.

Airbus, a partnership of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), and Britain's BAE Systems, charges about $230m for each A380.

But sources say discounts for launch customers have put the price lower than the asking price for a 747X.

"The 747X is an aircraft that we were interested in, but for the moment they have not put a lot of energy into that aircraft," said one airline industry executive.

"Boeing is not aggressively marketing that aircraft."

Changing strategy

According to one Wall Street analyst, the cost of developing a delta wing plane would be $9bn, making it more difficult for Boeing to simultaneously fund the $4bn 747X.

Boeing may prefer to distribute its research and development spending more broadly across its defence and space product lines, analysts have said.

Boeing last week announced plans to move its corporate headquarters out of Seattle, where it has built airplanes for 85 years, in a move aimed at switching the focus away from its commercial aeroplane unit.

Earlier this week Boeing denied that it had changed its strategy on the 747X or that a new mid-sized plane would eat into sales of 757s and 767s, saying that the two markets were separate.