Boeing Might Convert MD-95 Jetliners

Boeing Corp. said the 100-seat MD-95 jetliner might be converted into a commuter jet so that the Seattle-based giant can jump into the fast-growing market for regional aircraft. Boeing, the world’s biggest maker of jetliners, inherited the MD-95 when it bought McDonnell Douglas Corp., whose struggling Douglas Aircraft unit builds commercial jets in Long Beach. The MD-95’s future was in question even before the Boeing deal, because the plane has only one customer so far--troubled ValuJet Airlines, which placed firm orders for 50 MD-95s. Boeing is expected to decide by year-end on the future of Douglas’ other poor-selling planes: the twin-engine MD-90 and MD-80 and the wide-body MD-11. Boeing shares rose $1 to close at $53.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.