Boeing Studies ‘Regional’ Jet Plan

Boeing Co. said Tuesday it is considering developing a smaller, 85-seat version of the 717 jetliner to compete in the booming market for short-haul “regional” jets.

A Boeing spokesman said the Seattle-based company is preparing a business case that would spell out potential development costs and the likely market for a 717-100, a smaller variant of the 106-seat 717-200 that is assembled in Long Beach.

“We’ve been looking at this for quite some time to compete in the lower end regional market,” Boeing spokesman Warren Lamb said. “By the end of the year, we’ll decide whether to go forward.”

Such a move would reverse Boeing’s long resistance to competing in the regional jet market, which has boomed and led to rapid growth of plane makers such as Brazil’s Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier Inc.

The 717-200 is Boeing’s smallest commercial jet and the lone holdover of former McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing purchased in 1997.

While most aircraft makers modify planes to enlarge them, it wouldn’t be the first time a jetliner’s size was reduced. Boeing’s main rival, Airbus Industrie, modified its A-320 to develop the smaller A-319 and A-318 for the regional market.

“The regional airplane market is clearly showing strength,” Boeing Chief Executive and Chairman Phil Condit said Tuesday during a teleconference with analysts. He confirmed that the company was looking at developing the smaller 717.