World Briefing

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Boeing's 7E7: Made in Japan?
Troubled aerospace giant Boeing finally gained altitude when Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced it would order 50 7E7 planes Boeing's first new commercial jetliner in more than a decade. It's also the first Boeing jet with a foreign airline as the launch customer. The 7E7 is a midsize plane with about 250 seats. Take-off date: 2008. Although the plane retails for $120 million, launch customers traditionally get a hefty discount. The news comes at a crucial time. Boeing last year stopped making the 26-year-old 757 and might halt the 717 and 767 production lines. It hasn't sold a new 747 passenger plane in two years. Industry experts point out that Boeing has ceded to the Japanese 35% of the 7E7's manufacture an unprecedented role and the Japanese government will subsidize some of the plane's building costs. Rival Airbus noted that contrary to usual practice, ANA had not even asked Airbus to compete. Before declaring the 7E7 a success, analysts are waiting to see if industry leaders like Emirates and Singapore Airlines order the plane. --By Sally B. Donnelly