BOEING UNVEILS PERFORMANCE, COMFORT CHANGES TO NEXT-GENERATION 737S

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Boeing announced that seven
airlines will be the first to incorporate the new, spacious 737 Boeing Sky
Interior starting in late 2010, which features soft, blue-sky-like lighting
overhead.

The airlines are FlyDubai (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), Continental
Airlines (Houston), Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (Fornebu, Norway), Malaysia
Airlines (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), TUI Travel PLC (London), GOL Airlines (Sao
Paulo, Brazil) and Lion Air (Jakarta, Indonesia).

In a statement from Seattle Tuesday, Boeing said the 787 Style in the
World's Leading Single-Aisle Airplane Drawing from years of research was used to
design the interior for the 787 Dreamliner.

The 737 Boeing Sky Interior features new, 787-style modern sculpted
sidewalls and window reveals that draw passengers' eyes to the airplane's
windows, giving passengers a greater connection to the flying experience, it
said.

On a more practical note, the sidewall design integrates the air vent so
that before-flight security checks go more quickly for maintenance staff.

The new design offers larger, pivoting overhead stowage bins that add to the
openness of the cabin. The bins give more passengers room to store a carry-on
roll-aboard near their own seat, adding both extra convenience and extra
legroom.

Boeing said it had redesigned reading-light switches so passengers can find
them more easily and avoid accidentally pressing the flight-attendant call
button.

Speakers were integrated into each row's passenger-service unit to improve
sound and clarity of public address operations, while the new integrated air
vent and improved noise-dampening materials reduce overall cabin noise.

Boeing said changes to the Next-Generation 737 were more than cosmetic as
the firm was targeting a two percent reduction in fuel consumption by 2011
through a combination of airframe and engine improvements.

Airplane structural improvements would reduce drag on the airplane, reducing
fuel use by about one percent.

Boeing's engine partner, CFM, is contributing the other one percent fuel
savings through hardware changes to its engine.

Continental Airlines would make a Next-Generation 737-800 available to
Boeing to flight test the performance improvements.

-- BERNAMA