UAL Looking Into a 650-Passenger Jet

PARIS — United Airlines said Tuesday that it has asked Boeing Co. to study making a new 650-seat passenger jet that would be the world’s largest commercial airplane.

The plane would be ideal for long-haul travel, a lucrative area where carriers are jockeying for dominance.

United’s interest would also provide a boost to Seattle-based Boeing, already flooded with orders as the world’s carriers rebuild their aging fleets. The world’s top aircraft maker has talked for the past year about developing a new jumbo jet.

Now could be the right time, with United, which is owned by Chicago-based UAL Corp., eager to grow.

“As we look at the market, we think that there is a need for a bigger airplane,” UAL Chairman Stephen M. Wolf told a news conference.

Boeing’s largest plane now is the 747-400, rolled out in 1988. It has a maximum capacity of 660 passengers. But in the configuration used by United, it has just 400 seats: 34 first class, 76 business class and 290 coach class.

United is already one of the world’s biggest carriers and wants a new plane to expand its long-haul overseas flights.

A high-capacity, long-range jet would help United with airport slot constraints. A 650-seat jet would also go a long way toward capturing a big share of the international market, which is expected to grow by 10% a year in the 1990s.

United also asked Boeing to study expanding the current 747-400, possibly by extending the upper deck all the way to the back of the plane.

That alternative looks less likely than a new aircraft.

“As Boeing looks at it, they don’t believe that they can do it with the 747,” Wolf said.

The new airplane--dubbed the N650--would probably be delivered in 1997 or 1998, if Boeing agrees to make it.

A Boeing spokesman confirmed that the company is considering a possible extension of the 747-400 aircraft as well as a new 650-seat plane.

Largest Western Commercial Jets Boeing Co.’s 747-400 now tops the list.

The following lists the 10 biggest jets from Western aircraft companies that are now in passenger service. Since seating configurations differ, the numbers given are a range, with the seating layouts most commonly used:

1. Boeing Co. 747-400:

seats 300 to 400

2. McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-11:

seats 260 to 320

3. McDonnell Douglas DC-10:

seats 230 to 310

4. Lockheed Corp. L-1011:

seats 210 to 300

5. Airbus Industrie A300-600R:

seats 225 to 275

6. Boeing 767-300:

seats 215 to 260

7. Airbus Industrie A310:

seats 190 to 230

8. Boeing 767-200:

seats 175 to 225

9. Boeing 747-SP:

seats 220 to 250

10. Boeing 757:

seats 180 to 200

Source: Avmark Inc.