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Boeing to Add More Seats to 737-900
Boeing Co. is considering adding more seats to its new 737-900 to capture some European tourist flight business from Airbus Industrie. The A321 built by Boeing's European competitor can seat up to 220 passengers and has become popular among European charter tour operators.
Boeing may build a ''737-900x'' model by adding emergency exits or bigger doors to allow the twin-engine jet to seat up to 200 assengers.
Jets' seating capacity is set by the number of exits and passenger doors they have, according to US and foreign certification rules. The standard 737-900, which has not yet entered passenger service, is limited to 189 passengers.
To make the 737-900x, Boeing would have to make the forward passenger doors wider or add two emergency exits to the rear of the wing.
The 737-900 is undergoing flight tests and is expected to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Joint Aviation Authority in March.
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