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Boeing unveils Boeing '797' at Paris Air Show

By Allen Cone
Boeing, with corporate offices in Chicago, unveiled plans for its new Dreamliner jet -- dubbed the "797" -- at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Boeing
Boeing, with corporate offices in Chicago, unveiled plans for its new Dreamliner jet -- dubbed the "797" -- at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Boeing

June 20 (UPI) -- Boeing unveiled plans for its new Dreamliner jet -- dubbed the "797" -- at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday.

Boeing hasn't officially named the plane but the concept has been been called "797" by industry leaders -- the next in the numbering series that debuted 60 years ago with the Boeing 707.

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The manufacturer hopes airlines will begin flying the new model around 2025.

It envisions the plane will seat between 220 and 270 passengers for flights up to 5,200 nautical miles.

The "797" would serve a need between the Boeing's single-aisle 737 and its long-range 787, which entered commercial service on Oct. 26, 2011.

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Boeing hopes the more fuel-efficient jet will help relieve congested airports on routes between New York and Los Angeles as well as American cities to smaller European cities.

Boeing has spoken to 57 potential customers, including India's low-cost operator SpiceJet.

"We have 1.3 billion people in our country, they need to travel to different parts of the world and they don't necessarily need to travel through the hubs that have been created by several airlines on both sides of our country," SpiceJet CEO Ajay Singh told CNN.

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The plane will be entirely made of carbon fiber composite material, like the 787 Dreamliner, said Mike Delaney, Boeing's vice president of airplane development at a presentation in Paris.

Previously, Boeing said only that the wing would be carbon fiber composite.

Delaney also said the company is considering an elliptically-shaped fuselage cross-section for the 797. The means it will reduce the available cargo space below the passenger cabin.

A similar plane is the rival Airbus' A330neo but Delaney said Boeing's jet could cut flying costs by as much as 45 percent.

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