Boeing will likely scrap 787-3

Boeing will likely scrap the planned 787-3 after Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways switched orders to alternate versions.

"It's my guess that it won't be part of our product offering in the future," Boeing's commercial aircraft marketing head Randy Tinseth said Tuesday in an interview at the Singapore Air Show. The plane was specifically designed for Japanese carriers, he said, declining to elaborate on the program costs.

Abandoning the 787-3 would enable Boeing to focus on introducing the more popular long-range -8 and -9 versions of the Dreamliner as well as the 747-8. The planemaker diverted resources from the short-haul 787-3 in 2008 as it struggled to move the long-haul types toward production.

"They've been wanting to consolidate on one model as much as possible," said Peter Harbison, managing director at the Sydney-based industry consultant Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

All Nippon, set to be the first customer for the Dreamliner later this year, replaced its order for 28 787-3 short-range jets with the longer range 787-8 model last month. Japan Air, Asia's largest carrier by sales, switched orders last year.

The 787-3 was designed to carry as many as 330 passengers as far as 3,050 nautical miles, compared with as many as 250 passengers and as far as 8,200 nautical miles for the 787-8, according to Boeing's Web site.