B757 replacement may be twin-aisle - Curt Lewis

Boeing eyes twin-aisle design for new jet

Update would enter service in 2024-2025 if plane maker presses ahead

U.S. carriers including United and Delta are looking for a replacement for the now-discontinued single-aisle Boeing 757 still used on transcontinental routes and some flights across the Atlantic.

SAN DIEGO-Boeing Co. favors a twin-aisle design for a proposed all-new commercial jet that likely wouldn't enter service before 2024, a senior U.S. airline executive said Tuesday.

The plane maker BA, -0.15% hasn't previously disclosed design details of what industry executives are already calling the 797, with a seating capacity of more than 200 that would sit between its workhorse 737 jets and the 787 Dreamliner.

New jetliners can cost more than $10 billion to develop, and the decision whether to proceed with the plane will be a test for Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg as previous models launched during his tenure have been derivatives of existing aircraft.

Boeing has been marketing its concept of a new jet to airlines and leasing companies, and many had expected it to be a single-aisle plane that allows carriers to move passengers on and off more quickly than a twin-aisle.