Is Boeing interested in building regional jets?
Not at this time. It’s difficult to be in every market sector. We have studied regional jets for years and decided it wasn’t a good idea for us. There was an initial surge of RJs in the late ’90s and in this decade, but we thought the growth would subside. We thought it would peak in 2004 or 2005. And some of that has happened. Now there are only a couple of players, Bombardier and Embraer. How big a factor is Asia when you’re considering what kind of plane to build next? Asia is about a third of the overall world market for new planes. Because they’re growing, they’re still developing networks, not just replacing existing aircraft. In Europe and the U.S., the market is mainly replacement aircraft. But you can’t ignore any market. Do airlines in Asia care about fuel efficiency as much as the cash-strapped carriers in the U.S. do? They care as much in Asia about fuel efficiency, but they don’t put as much emphasis on the environment. Their environmental laws aren’t as tough. A lot of an
