Boeing set to reveal 757 successor soon

[LONDON] - Boeing is close to announcing a new aircraft to succeed the 757 jetliner that ceased production almost a decade ago, according to central Asian carrier Air Astana, which is keen to purchase the plane.

The airline's talks with Boeing at the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Doha earlier this month suggest the model will be built, Air Astana president Peter Foster said in London last week.

Boeing is gauging the appetite of airlines for a new medium-size jet for transcontinental travel within the United States, executives said at the Singapore Air Show in February. A plane seating 180 people in two classes able to fly as long as nine hours would also meet requirements from Almaty, Kazakhstan-based Air Astana on so-called long, thin routes, Mr Foster said.