Boeing, Russia Jet Partners?

Boeing, Russia Jet Partners?

Boeing`s talk of teaming up with Russia on an all-new passenger jet could lead
to a partnership between two countries rich in aerospace heritage, but some
observers doubt a joint venture will come to fruition.

Thomas Pickering, Boeing`s senior vice president of international relations,
elaborated last week on a recent agreement between Boeing and the Russian
Aviation and Space Agency, telling journalists in Europe the company might
develop an aircraft, possibly a regional jet, as part of the partnership.
Russians would build the jet with Boeing's help.

Russia offers a tantalizing market, but Boeing would be venturing into new
territory. A regional jet would be smaller than any passenger jet Boeing has
built.

Aviation consultant Adam Pilarski questioned how much Boeing understands
regional jets, whose customers usually are not the same ones that buy Boeing`s
bigger airliners.

The regional-jet market is highly competitive, with Bombardier, Embraer and
Fairchild Dornier leading the pack, and a host of nations, including South
Korea, India and China, nursing dreams of developing their own smaller jets,
said Pilarski, a senior vice president of Aviatas, an aviation-consulting firm
in Reston, Va.

Still, the Russians have a big need for new regional jets and lack money to buy
them.

Aeroflot, the Russian carrier, was once the world`s largest airline. But since
the fall of the Soviet Union a decade ago, the Russian aviation market has
shrunk dramatically, and virtually no civilian planes are being built there.

Pilarski said he doubts a Russian-built jet would find many customers outside
its home. Despite success in space, the country has a dismal record in civil
aviation. Aeroflot at one time was crashing with such regularity that the U.S.
Embassy in Moscow told its employees to avoid traveling by air.

Given Boeing`s financial muscle and aerospace know-how, ``if they want to crush
the existing competitors, they can do it. They can drive everybody out of
business,`` Pilarski said. ``But I`m not positive that it will be a smart
move.``

The joint-venture idea is part of an agreement signed last month by Boeing
Chairman Phil Condit and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Rosaviakosmos.

It is Boeing`s plan for the possible new jetliner that is attracting the most
scrutiny from Boeing workers in the Puget Sound area. The Russians are
discussing building a 50- to 100-seat short-haul plane that could be sold
worldwide.

``This is something we want to watch very closely,`` said Bill Dugovich,
spokesman for the Seattle engineering union at Boeing.

Adding to the engineers` concern is that the Russians are experts in working
with titanium, a metal noted for its strength, heat resistance and relatively
light weight. Titanium parts could play a crucial role in Boeing`s proposed
Sonic Cruiser, Dugovich said.

Boeing already has close ties with the Russians. They are joint-venture partners
in the International Space Station and in Sea Launch, which launches satellites
from a converted oil platform.

The Russians also contributed a noise-prediction model that made the
next-generation 737 jetliners quieter, as well as design for the pivoting
overhead bins in the 777.

Boeing so far is only examining the feasibility of potentially building a plane
with the Russians, said Rick Fuller, a Boeing spokesman. ``There is no
commitment to do anything.``

The size of the airplane envisioned by Russia could overlap with Boeing's
106-seat 717, which is built in Long Beach, Calif., as well as the 110-seat
737-600, which is assembled in Renton.

Boeing had considered shrinking the 717 down to about 80 seats or enlarging it
to about 125 seats, but so far hasn't found enough market interest, said John
Thom, a Boeing spokesman in Long Beach.

He said any jet venture with Russia is far off and would have to address the
``impact it would have on the current Boeing planes.``

By Kyung M. Song Seattle Times

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