Boeing may also be able to lower the total cost of the plane by building it efficiently. Many of its existing models were started decades ago and are relatively expensive to make. A new model could incorporate the latest advances in manufacturing.
Several airlines have been enthusiastic about the prospect of a new plane. Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Atlantic, said it expected to order up to six of the aircraft. Donald J. Carty, the chairman of AMR, the parent of American Airlines, said he was interested in buying the first 30 off the assembly line. The chairmen of Delta Air Lines and UAL, the parent of United Airlines, also expressed interest.
But a closer look indicates that the commitments are highly conditional. "There are as many questions as there are answers," said Timothy Doke, a spokesman for American. "But at this point we are very intrigued by the concept and very supportive. We would very much like to be on the ground floor of this."
Told of Mulally's goal of 20 percent more fuel consumption than a 767, Doke was surprised. "If they can't bring that down, it would lessen some of the productivity benefits," he said. "Our team members would be encouraging them to sharpen their pencils and bring the operating cost down" to where it would be 7 to 10 percent cheaper to operate than a comparable current jet.
Leahy, the Airbus executive, said that every new commercial airplane introduced in the last 20 years has had a lower operating cost than what came before it. "What the world's airlines are telling us is that economics are very important," he said. "You've got to have the lowest seat-mile cost." He predicted that after the hoopla over the Sonic Cruiser died down, Boeing would ultimately drop the idea and offer a smaller version of the 777 to replace the slow-selling 767.
Boeing does have a reputation in the industry for being fickle about new airplane projects. It announced a highly fuel-efficient jet in the early 1970s called the 7J7, only to cancel the program a few years later when oil prices dropped. In the early 1990s, it talked to the major Airbus partners about building a new superjumbo to replace the 747, only to back away. Since then, it set to work on two bigger versions of the 747 but canceled them, too.
Presented with that record, Mulally said, "I think it is fabulous." Boeing, he said, is a customer-driven company that must be nimble. "What a neat thing it is to look at your customers and the market and make your investments accordingly," he said. "The fact that Boeing is listening and is flexible is a great thing."
This time, however, Boeing has created so much general interest in the Sonic Cruiser that canceling the project could backfire. "They are walking a thin line," said one aerospace executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They really could hurt their reputation if they pull the rug out from under this in two years' time."
But Mulally said he was forging ahead. By year-end, he expects to announce a group of airlines that will work with Boeing to define the specifications of the new airplane.
"Are we serious about it?" he said. "Absolutely. Can it be done? Absolutely."
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