Boeing Will Stop Work on ‘Superjumbos’

SEATTLE — Boeing Co. said Monday that it will halt development of “superjumbo” versions of its 747 jets because of a lack of orders.

“We clearly have been underwhelmed by the market right now,” said Mike Bair, vice president for product strategy and development at Boeing Commercial Airplane Group.

Instead, Boeing plans to concentrate on more long-range, medium-sized airplanes such as the twin-engine 767 and 777. Boeing has plans for longer-range versions of both those aircraft, Bair said.

For months, Boeing has delayed a long-expected announcement that it would begin developing the 747-500 and 747-600--larger and longer-range versions of its workhorse 747-400 jumbo jet.

Company executives said the orders simply weren’t there and that developing the planes presented a costly and risky bet.

Many analysts had expected Boeing to announce the program’s launch at the September Farnborough air show in England, with the understanding that the first planes would be delivered by December 2000.

But last month, Ron Woodard, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group’s president, cautioned that the earliest the plane might be in service was late 2001--and only then if orders were placed soon.

On Monday, Boeing all but abandoned efforts on the new planes, at least for the near future. Bair said many of the approximately 1,000 people working on the aircraft will be “reassigned and on something productive as soon as possible.”

Bair said he expects no layoffs. “We have more than enough work” with growing demand for commercial aircraft, he said.