Mr. al-Baker of Qatar Airways has become a human starting gun of sorts for industry discussion about re-engining the 737 and A320. His airline has been in (deadlocked) negotiations with Bombardier about the CSeries, while the prospect of such an order has provided Mr. al-Baker with a springboard to push the idea of a re-engined A320 as a potentially superior aircraft to the 120 to 149-seat CS300. Not to be out done, Boeing’s Randy Tinseth is openly discussing the prospect of a re-engined 737, addressing it as technically possible, but with strategic considerations at the forefront.
Pratt & Whitney, widely believed to be a lead contender for the engine selection for the A320 and/or 737, has been actively pushing its PW1000G geared turbofan engine, which has already been through flight testing underneath the wing of an Airbus A340-600.
On the other end, the 100 to 125-seat CS100 has quietly prompted Embraer to evaluate exactly how the new narrowbody would stack up against its largest 100-seat E-195. Tucked away on page 32 of Air Insight’s must read report on the future of commercial aerospace programs in Brazil, Canada, China and Japan and Russia, the Brazilian airframer delivered a noteworthy assessment of the CS100.
The real threat [to Embraer] comes from Bombardier. A proven competitor, Bombardier is taken seriously. However, Embraer points out that the CSeries wing is optimized for the larger CS300. That means the CS100 has a larger wing than needed, and as a result the CS100 will weigh ~5,000kg more than its E-195. Even with the [Pratt & Whitney PW1000G] geared fan, Embraer expects to see the CS100 only offer a 2% fuel burn advantage over the E‐195. Given that the CS100 is a new design with a program settling‐in period, Embraer believes it has some time before it needs to react to the new competition. Emphasis Added
Boeing and Airbus always promised a robust response to CSeries. Their turf is well established and with the prospect of a significant loss of market share (read: cash flow) Boeing and Airbus will fight new entrants tooth and nail. For Embraer, their assessment leaves the door open to significant changes to the E-Jet family. Would a next generation E-Jet leap frog a CS100 in the 100-seat segment? No matter how you fold it, CSeries represents a competitive threat to Embraer, Boeing and Airbus and we’ve only just begun to see the response.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.