Jump seen in 787 production

According to a key 787 partner in Italy, Boeing plans to raise the production rate for its hot-selling new jet and may double the rate — which could mean an entire extra production line in Everett.

In an interview Thursday in Washington, D.C., Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, chief executive officer of Italy's Finmeccanica, said Boeing in January asked Italian partner Alenia, a unit of Finmeccanica, to increase its monthly output of fuselages from seven to 10, with a potential rate later of 14.

Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach confirmed that the company met with its suppliers Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss boosting production.

Boeing will decide by summer how much to increase 787 production, she said.

"It's just the beginning of the process," Leach said, declining to comment on production rates or requests to suppliers.

Michael Bair, Boeing 787 program manager, said in December that the company may boost annual output of the plane and that the company will deliver a total of 112 twin-engine 787s in 2008 and 2009, up from an earlier plan of 96.

And he said Boeing was reviewing whether to increase output beyond original targets, starting in 2010.

Based on the $140 million average list price for the plane, doubling 787 production could mean an extra $12 billion in annual revenue for Boeing — although discounts of at least 30 percent from list prices are typically expected.

Boeing is counting on the 787 to regain dominance of the $60-billion-a-year commercial jet market from European rival Airbus. Boeing has 291 firm orders from 23 customers as airlines rush to replace aging planes with fuel-efficient models.

Airbus has 91 firm orders for the rival A350 jet, which launched in October.

Shares of Boeing, which have risen 35 percent in the past year, closed up $1.12 at $77.85 Friday. Shares of Rome-based Finmeccanica, which have risen 25 percent in the past year, rose 5 cents to 19.02 euros in Milan.

Finmeccanica's Alenia subsidiary plans to invest more than 500 million euros ($609.7 million) in the 787 program over the next three years. Finmeccanica in August said the initial order it was awarded called for components for 150 aircraft valued at about $1.1 billion.

Alenia and Vought Aircraft Industries of Dallas are in a joint venture to build about 26 percent of the 787's all composite structure, including the central and rear fuselage sections and the stabilizer.

The Alenia and Vought fuselage sections will be joined in Charleston, S.C., and shipped to Everett for final assembly. The Charleston plant, now under construction, will be completed by July and deliver the first fuselage to Boeing in April 2007, Guarguaglini said.

"Boeing's talking about assembling these planes in a few days because everything they're getting will be so complete," Nisbet said.

Boeing plans three models of the 787 and is considering a fourth.

The initial version, the 787-8, will have 210 to 250 seats and fly 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles. The 787-3 will carry as many as 330 people over shorter distances. The 787-9, seating 250 to 290 and flying as far as 8,800 miles, is scheduled to enter service in 2012.

Boeing is considering another bigger version, the 787-10, to suit specific prospective customers, including Emirates of Dubai and Qantas.

Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates contributed to this report.