Business: Boeing Plans a Rubber Plane

With two engines—or three

The thick smokescreen surrounding one of the biggest mysteries of commercial aviation is clearing at last. Airlines will soon have to replace their aging fleets of about 1,500 707s, 727s and DC-8s, but existing models are too big or too small to meet the demand for an intermediate-range plane carrying 180 to 200 people. Many aerospace manufacturers have been reluctant to build new planes until they learn what Boeing, the industry leader, is going to do. Now Boeing seems to have settled on a basic design for a "high technology"...

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