Boeing talking with airlines to launch new 737-900 jet The Associated Press 2/24/03 8:09 PM SEATTLE (AP) -- Boeing Co. is talking with several airlines in Europe and Asia, looking for a launch customer so it can bring out a new version of the 737-900 jet. The proposed plane, known as the 737-900X, could carry as many as 220 passengers and would target competitor Airbus' A321 jet. Airbus' jet can carry that many passengers and has been popular with European tour operators. "This plane will bring us into direct competition with the Airbus A321," Kenneth Hiebert, regional director of product marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "It will give us head-to-head competition." Design changes -- including adding two emergency exit doors just behind the wings -- are key to helping the plane carry more passengers. Safety regulations limit the current 737-900 jet to no more than 189 passengers. Boeing has long been talking with airlines about a 737-900 that could carry more passengers and travel as far as 2,770 nautical miles. "We are talking to customers who are very interested in the plane," Hiebert said. "I can't say if something is imminent or not, but our hope is sooner rather than later." Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.