The Boeing Co. plans radical changes in the way it designs and builds planes to reduce costs by as much as 50 percent, chairman Philip M. Condit said today. Most of those breakthroughs will come not in what the aircraft looks like, but in the way it is designed and built.
Japan is an important market for the aircraft manufacturer.
In the deal, Boeing will take the MD-11s in trade, convert the planes to freighters and deliver them to United Parcel Service. JAL is to receive its new jets between 2002 and 2004. Providing maintenance for U.S. military planes is one area in which the company wants to become more active. It also wants to reduce satellite launch costs by up to 90 percent. Condit spoke optimistically about three business units created earlier this year to focus on Internet access in airplanes, development of a private air traffic control service and formation of a finance company.