Boeing's commercial jet venture mirrors JSF strategy.

Boeing's business model for the development of a next-generation fuel-efficient jetliner in many ways mirrors the strategy the company pursued for the Defense Department's Joint Strike Fighter competition.

At the 2003 Paris Air Show, Boeing unveiled a concept for a new commercial passenger jet, called the 7E7 Dreamliner. Unlike previous ventures into new aircraft designs, this effort bases its success on international participation by a consortium of companies that would invest and help promote the airplane.

Boeing's 7E7 team includes Alenia Aeronautica, Fuji Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vought Aircraft Industries, which is the only U.S. partner.

"These companies have distinguished themselves as the candidates for receiving design-and-build work for the 7E7 airframe," said Mike Bair, senior vice president of the Boeing 7E7 program. "The intent is to draw partners early and jointly define the path forward.... We'll spend the next several months deciding how to partition the work."

From a business perspective, Boeing's 7E7 strategy is smart, because it spreads the risk, said Simon Luxmoore, president of Messier-Dowty, a supplier of aerospace products who was a member of the Boeing JSF team that ultimately lost to Lockheed Martin. In the JSF program, the team members operated in a "virtual enterprise" and focused on the "team offering" rather than the companies' individual products. That model certainly could work for the 7E7, he said in an interview at the Paris Air Show.

The 7E7 will use 20 percent less fuel per passenger than today's airplanes, said Bair. Among the improvements being developed for passengers are wider aisles, lower cabin altitude and increased cabin humidity. In addition, the 7E7 will be "e-enabled," with systems that provide in-flight entertainment and Internet access.