China’s belt and road trade strategy could determine the design of Boeing’s new 797 plane
- Initiative could encourage a meeting of minds on requirements for new plane type, Boeing marketing chief says
- US manufacturer sees potential for an aircraft that would make more routes viable between nations involved in the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’
China’s belt and road global trade strategy could spur the world’s largest planemaker to design and build a new mid-sized aircraft within a decade to serve the growing air travel market between the country and its partners in the plan.
The new model could operate on medium-distance routes where large twin-aisle jets are too big and costly to fly and single-aisle planes too limited in their range, according to Boeing marketing chief Randy Tinseth.
The US manufacturer sees potential for an aircraft that would make more routes viable between nations involved in the “Belt and Road Initiative”. It is being dubbed the Boeing 797.
The company is currently grappling with intense scrutiny over two fatal crashes involving the upgraded version of its best-selling 737, which has been a cash cow for half a century. The firm will not make a decision on the 797 until next year.
The belt and road strategy is an ambitious plan devised by President Xi Jinping to coordinate trillions of dollars of infrastructure investment across the regions of Africa, Europe and Asia historically bound by the ancient Silk Road trading routes.