PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing (NYSE:BA) sees a potential market size of over 1,000 aircraft in a niche it is exploring between its single-aisle 737 and wide-body 787, but has not decided whether to go ahead and build a jet for the so-called 'mid-market,' its sales chief said on Sunday.
Airlines have told the planemaker they are interested in something about 20 percent bigger than its out-of-production 757 and able to fly further, putting it beyond the reach of the latest A321LR single-aisle offering from rival Airbus, he said.
Speaking in an interview ahead of the Paris Airshow, John Wojick, senior vice president for global sales and marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, also said Boeing would be "tracking toward" its annual order target by the end of June.
The remark implies that the Chicago-based planemaker expects to make announcements involving around 200 aircraft at the Paris Airshow, which starts on Monday.
Boeing aims to book orders in 2015 at least matching its deliveries, which it estimates at 750-755 planes. It goes into the air show with 175 orders, or 131 after cancellations.
Orders are seen lower this year after a series of record or near-record annual performances, partly because planemakers are sold out six or more years ahead, but demand for wide-body long-distance jets remains strong, Wojick said.
Boeing is working on potential orders for the freighter version of its 747-8 jumbo, buoyed by recent improvements in cargo markets following a lengthy slump, he added.