A U.S. Superjet for Japan?

AVIATION A U.S. Superjet for Japan? U.S. aircraft makers have been about as hopeful of selling their latest sky designs as dress manufacturers have been about getting rid of their midi stockpiles. Boeing's bid to usher the nation into the supersonic age, after all, was soundly rebuffed by the Senate, and the fate of Lockheed's L-1011 jet still hangs precariously in the Congress. Yet last week ailing Boeing, which has laid off more than 90,000 workers in the past three years, became the heavy favorite to develop a new line of jumbo aircraft. Its prospective client: the Japanese government, which is racing its engines to enter the superjet era.

Dollar Hoards. The Japanese originally planned to build their own huge jet airbus, but Japan's planemakers could not produce it as quickly as passengers need it. With domestic air runs already booked to overflowing, the government made a command decision to seek a foreign partner. A study mission headed by astute Hidemasa Kimura, an aeronautics professor, visited five manufacturers: The Netherlands' Fokker, British Aircraft Corp., Lockheed, McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing.

Boeing came closest to offering what the Tokyo government wants. Final terms have yet to be worked out, but it is likely that Boeing will sell or lease to the Japanese basic design-and-production technology either for a short-range version of its famed jumbo jet, with the working name of 747-SR, or for a completely new superjet airbus that could carry up to 300 passengers but operate out of relatively short runways. Presumably, the Japanese would put up a production line with Boeing's help, and some of the plane parts would be built in the U.S. Kimura said that the Japanese, who have huge dollar hoards, could now make $400 million available for the project. Japan's government estimates that the cost of the project ultimately could be as much as $1 billion.

Chinese Market. Last week Kimura's group recommended that the government proceed with a joint development, and officials acknowledged that Boeing had the inside track. If the plan is approved, Japan's air technology will take a quantum leap forward, giving it a big lead in future markets of the Far East, notably including China. At the same time, Boeing will be able to open a door that is seldom used these days in the aerospace industry--the hiring office. The Seattle-based company dreams of developing important new models but needs a partner with money before going forward. Ironically, the money that Japan has earned from its export drive, which has been sharply criticized by U.S. protectionists, may well help to ease unemployment in the hard-pressed Pacific Northwest.

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