Unveiling Boeing's New Baby

One reason the Boeing Co. is the world's leading commercial aircraft manufacturer is its knack for coming out with the right planes at the right time. The Seattle aerospace firm is now about to present the first of two jetliners that are designed to keep that reputation. These are the planes for the energy-efficient 1980s. The Boeing 767 twinjet, which will be unveiled this week, will be the most economical plane of its kind ever flown.

With a full passenger load, a 767 can fly each of its 211 passengers 1,150 miles at a fuel-consumption rate equivalent to 69.9 m.p.g. By comparison, a 727-200 with 143 seats gets only 50 passenger-miles per gallon. The 767 also has new aerodynamic engineering, new engines and a state-of-the-art computerized flight control system. The aircraft, which has a range of up to 3,200 miles, is expected to be used on routes like Chicago-New York and Boston-Miami. The slightly smaller 757, which is designed for shorter routes, seats 178 people and has a range of 2,500 miles. It will probably be introduced in January 1982.

So far, Boeing has invested more than $3 billion in bringing the two aircraft to market. The company estimates the total potential market for the 767, which can cost up to $43.5 million a plane, to be as many as 1,500 aircraft by the 1990s. For the 757, the company is shooting at a target of perhaps as many as 1,200 planes during the same period. If the company comes anywhere near those goals, Boeing's dominance of the world aircraft industry will remain intact.

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