Airbus plans tweak to fend off Boeing’s new mid-size jet

Airbus will offer a modified version of its A330neo wide-body designed for shorter trips in an effort to undermine demand for a new middle-of-the-market plane that Boeing is expected to launch next year. The A330neo’s engines could be re-rated to a lower level of thrust, helping to reduce the fuel load and cut its take-off weight, Crawford Hamilton, the plane’s marketing chief, said Monday. That would make the model better-suited to the mid-range routes Boeing would target with its jet, dubbed the 797. While the A330 will remain a bigger plane, Airbus is seeking to chip away at the overall market for the new Boeing, with versions of the A321neo narrow-body already eating into the lower end of the same niche with a spate of sales to trans-Atlantic carriers. <br/>