Boeing Co. is scheduled to unveil next week a suite of experimental technologies intended to make airliners more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly than today's models.

When the year's biggest air show kicks off on Monday outside London, Boeing officials said, the company plans to release details about possible changes in engine design and wing technology that are slated to be tested on a modified 737 jet, dubbed an ecoDemonstrator.

The features underscore the aviation industry's increasing focus on developing planes that burn less fuel than today's versions, while producing lower emissions and less noise. Regulators around the world are pressing for such improvements.

After flight tests planned for later this year, some of the changes could be used on new Boeing airliners within a few years, the company said. The technologies, planned to be unveiled at the Farnborough International Air Show, range from advanced engine-vibration controls that reduce noise and maintenance costs to updated versions of adjustable back edges of wings able to support faster and less-noisy ascents, according to David Akiyama, manager of Boeing's test program.

Mr. Akiyama said in an interview that rear sections of the specially equipped Boeing 737's wings will be able to automatically flex up or down, likely by less than a foot, in order to provide the most aerodynamically efficient shape during the plane's climb, cruise and descent.

The enhancements could yield significant fuel savings later this decade. On a new plane, for example, Mr. Akiyama projected that the wing modifications alone could amount to as much as a 2 percent drop in annual fuel use.

The ecoDemonstrator is geared to assess promising technologies that "could move the needle the most" in protecting the environment through swift adoption, but also those that stand to "benefit the most from flight tests," Mr. Akiyama said. The 737 demonstration aircraft is still being prepared by Boeing and its subcontractors, so it won't make an appearance at Farnborough.

Boeing this year also plans to test a feature that allows the diameter of an engine's exhaust nozzle to increase during takeoffs and landings, in order to optimize airflow throughout different phases of flight. Planes equipped with the technology are expected to emit less noise and burn less fuel.

For next year, the company is poised to test an array of modifications on one of its 787 Dreamliner models, according to industry and company officials. The Chicago-based plane maker hasn't spelled out details of those potential advances.

Boeing flight tests of the 787 next year are likely to include a new cockpit-safety feature aimed at helping pilots recover from stalls or other unusual maneuvers that could cause them to lose control of aircraft, the officials said.

The proposed system for the 787 provides instant and prominent visual cues -- consisting of brightly colored arrows popping up on cockpit displays -- to help pilots recover from flight upsets or other extreme situations that may prompt them to become confused about a plane's automation or trajectory.

So-called loss-of-control accidents are the most frequent and deadliest types of commercial plane crashes globally. Emphasis on preventing such accidents comes amid a flurry of international studies and initiatives to enhance onboard warnings and pilot training.

A joint study by the aircraft industry and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, expected to be released in coming months, has tentatively concluded that loss-of-control accidents often stem from increased reliance on automation combined with eroded manual flying skills, according to industry and FAA experts.

Developed by Honeywell International Inc. in conjunction with Boeing, the proposed warnings are seen as a partial antidote to such hazards. They are intended to advise pilots how to manipulate a plane's controls in an emergency, by giving the pilots clear-cut directions that aren't available on current Boeing models. If Boeing offers such enhancements, airlines are likely to embrace them because the system is projected to require only relatively inexpensive software upgrades to existing flight-control hardware and cockpit displays.

Honeywell's latest flight-deck system clearly is "among the technologies we would consider" for extensive flight tests in the future, according to Mr. Akiyama. A Honeywell spokesman declined to comment.

In 2013, Boeing's ecoDemonstrator also will highlight novel applications of certain ceramic materials intended to be used at the rear of jet engines that would allow them to run more quietly while operating at higher internal temperatures. Raising temperatures in the core of an engine typically helps improve efficiency, reducing fuel consumption by internal turbines.

In addition, Mr. Akiyama said, nozzles made from layers of ceramic materials "potentially could be 20 percent to 30 percent lighter" than the metallic parts they are intended to replace.