Boeing to End 717 Producation in '06

[haze]

Great little airplane, too bad really. With AirTran's focus now on the 737, their 80+ 717s will probably eventually shift to the commuter feeder role where it has a distinct advantage over the CRJ, Embraer, etc.

From Boeing.com:

Another charge of approximately $340 million pre-tax, or $0.27 per share, is attributable to a decision to conclude production of the 717 commercial airplane in 2006 and includes expected supplier termination charges. Most of the cash expenditures related to the charge and an additional $45 million of period expenses associated with the shutdown are expected to occur in 2005 through 2007.

“The 717 brings tremendous value to the airlines that operate it. Unfortunately, the overall market for the airplane does not support continuing 717 production beyond delivering on our current commitments,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally. “We extend our appreciation and gratitude to all our employees, customers and partners who worked so well together on the 717. The moving production line pioneered on this airplane will be a lasting legacy across our current and future airplane programs.

“As with all Boeing airplanes, we will continue to provide exceptional customer support for 717s in service for many years to come. And Boeing will continue to compete aggressively with our popular 737 Next Generation family of airplanes, which serves the 100- to 215-seat market,” said Mulally.

The DC-9, 727, and MD-11 are all discontinued models that still serve Northwest, Delta, FedEx amptly. And Boeing will continue to offer factory support for the model and it's customers, so they should be flying for a long time still..

[Delta7203]

It's really sad to hear that the little sucker is gonna be discontinued...
I love those planes.

- John

[pitchlock]

Me to