Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Boeing keeps setting new highs! When will it split? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dper who wrote (2317)	6/13/1999 10:59:00 AM
From: P.M.Freedman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3764

quote.bloomberg.com

To: dper who wrote (2317)	6/13/1999 4:21:00 PM
From: Gordon Gekko	Respond to of 3764

Boeing Defends 717, Still No Plans For Super Jumbo Jet By Nancy Fonti PARIS (Dow Jones)--Boeing Co. (BA) executives vigorously defended their smallest jetliner Sunday while they were pelted with questions about the plane's future and lackluster orders. After about three and half years of marketing, Boeing has booked only 115 orders for its 717-200. The plane seats 106 people and is designed for routes 300 nautical miles or less. Meanwhile, competitor European consortium Airbus Industrie (F.ABI) has gathered more than 100 orders for its similar A-318, which it launched last April. Boeing's Alan Mulally, president of the aerospace giant's commercial airplane group, insisted at the Paris Air Show that the market demands such a plane for short-range, high-frequency travel. Boeing, which recently completed a study of its operations with plans of eliminating programs that detract value, will not scrap its 717, Mulally said. Customers include Trans World Airlines Inc. (TWA) and AirTran Holdings Inc. (AAIR), both troubled airlines said to have bought the planes at deep discounts. Boeing is pressured to find buyers because some of its suppliers assumed the plane's development costs. After the air show, where Boeing will display and demonstrate the plane, it will take it on a 10-day European marketing tour with hopes of drumming up interest from European airlines. While more successful with orders, Airbus encountered snags with plans for A-318 assembly because of hesitation surrounding where the plane should be built. Airbus has decided on Hamburg, Germany, Airbus Chairman Noel Forgeard said Sunday. The consortium is pushing ahead with planes for a A-3XX super jumbo jet, and Forgeard believes the market will demand 1,500 such aircraft. That estimate includes cargo carriers, he said. So far, Airbus plans to pour $11 billion into the super jumbo jet program. The plane, which would seat around 550 people, would be delivered in 2005, if all goes as planned. The A-3XX's direct operating costs would be 15% less than those of the most modern Boeing 747 jumbo jet, he added. Boeing's Mulally reiterated that he sees little market for a super jumbo jet, although Boeing has received "a lot" of customer requests for improved range capabilities for the 747. The latest plane in the family, the 747-400, can fly 416 to 524 people about 8,400 miles. "We have no plans, and nor are we being asked by customers, to increase the size at this time," Mulally said.