View Single Post
Old 06-12-2007, 09:49 PM
  #1  
1Seat 1Engine
Gets Weekends Off
 
1Seat 1Engine's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Position: 737 Right
Posts: 1,385
Default 737 Replacement Moves to the Right

10 June 2007 - Boeing says 737 replacement not expected before 2015

Boeing expects airframe technology will play as crucial a role as new clean-burning engines in developing a replacement for its best-selling 737, providing a potential advantage over Airbus in the race to design the next generation of single-aisle aircraft.

The two rivals are developing replacements for their 737 and A320 families, which are the workhorses of global airline fleets and account for half of the $3,200bn in aircraft deliveries forecast between now and 2025.

Engine manufacturers are struggling to develop new power plants to meet ever more exacting efficiency standards, as well as tighter emission and environmental demands. Over the past two decades, in contrast, improvements in engine technology have led the way in developing quieter, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

Boeing now believes the new airframe technology, using composite carbon-fibre pioneered on its 787 widebody jet, will be just as important as the engines. The 787 is due to enter service next year but the 737 and A320 replacements are not expected before the middle of the next decade at the earliest.

"I think the introduction of composites has raised the ability of the airframe to make a difference . . . and really puts it on a par with the engine development," said Jim McNerney, chairman and chief executive of Boeing.

Boeing and its partners in the 787 programme already have an advantage over Airbus in building airframes using composites, which replace most of the traditional aluminium structures. The materials are lighter and more durable, and can be assembled faster.

Mr McNerney admitted in an interview with the Financial Times that the American company had yet to finalise the transfer of the 787 technology to developing a replacement for the 737, the world's best-selling commercial aircraft.

The FT revealed last year that Boeing was working with key 737 customers including Southwest, Ryanair and Gol on the replacement, dubbed the 797. "I think the market knows what it wants," said Mr McNerney, pointing to a 20-25 per cent improvement in the operating costs and environmental footprint compared with the existing 737 family.

"The technology component will be slightly different than for the 787. We haven't totally figured that out," he said.



I find this to be an interesting subject since SWA, who has been the icon of the single-type airline has been faced with the 737 going away as early as 2012. Looks like this adds a little more breathing room to this transition.
1Seat 1Engine is offline