When it set out to evaluate all its options for the future of its narrowbody product, Boeing established three potential goal posts for itself: An all new aircraft, a re-enginged 737, or leave the venerable workhorse alone, avoiding a costly investment against a re-engined Airbus A320 and Bombardier’s CS100.
While its final end-of-year decision has yet to be announced, the company’s thinking around its future plans have evolved significantly over the past year. As it stands today, Boeing is entertaining a fourth option, dubbed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, Jim Albaugh, as the 737 Next Generation Plus or 737NG+.
Albaugh’s comments on the upgraded jetliner came on Tuesday at an internal company webcast at the company’s Renton, Washington facility. The NG+, while lacking specifics, would incrementally improve the 737 family without the significant investment of a new powerplant, say those familiar with his comments.
Any improvements for the 737NG+ would be incorporated beyond the already-announced Sky Interior, aerodynamic improvements and CFM56-7BE engine planned for introduction between October 2010 and mid-2011.
The strategic chief of the company’s commercial unit believes that the improvement in direct operating cost yielded for a re-engined A320 would be limited to just 3-4%, bringing it in line with today’s 737. Boeing’s marketing of the 737 has maintained that the twin jet holds an overall advantage over its European competitor. With this logic, the sources add, Albaugh contends a 737NG+ would sell well against a re-engined A320, establishing a bridge to the all-new Boeing narrowbody in the 2020s.
When approached for comment, Boeing declined to address Albaugh’s remarks on the 737NG+ directly, saying only the evaluation of potential aircraft improvements – including a new engine – are ongoing.
Airbus, as well as engine makers, contend the improvement yielded with new engines would be in the 13-14% range, after factoring in the 1-2% lost on airframe modifications, far beyond the number touted by Albaugh. Additionally, it is not clear what assumptions were supporting his claim, nor what portion of any potential improvement was eaten up by the $7 to $8 million price premium the new engine option would bring.
Though for Boeing, re-engining has fallen out of favor, with CFO James Bell saying recently:
And we have looked at the re-engining, and we will continue to study it, but right now it looks like the engine could get to 10% to 15% more efficient, but it is not flow-through efficiency. When you add the additional weight associated with the change in the design of the airplane and you add the cost, it looks more like a single-digit improvement, which we don’t believe is something that our customers are interested in, in going through a re-engine and having a mixed fleet for just that minimal improvement in performance.
But I can tell you right now, our customers have not shown a real interest in a re-engine airplane.
Pratt & Whitney CEO David Hess said today at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington, DC that it was by no means a forgone conclusion that both Boeing and Airbus would take the same path on re-engining.
“It’s conceivable they both could go different ways,” he said.
With agreements already inked between CFM and Pratt & Whitney establishing the technical foundations of re-engining the A320 family, industry sources say that all signs point to a nearing finalization of the Airbus engineering study, launching the NEO (new engine option) program.
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.