Manufacturer Sends Request for Information to Engine Makers

Boeing has begun the slow, careful steps toward replacing the long-troubled 737 family…this time without a MAX attached to the name. The company issued a request for information (RFI) to several leading engine manufacturers, seeking proposals for a ducted propulsion system rated around 30,000 pounds of thrust.

Boeing’s RFI was reportedly sent to major players like Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and CFM International. The last is the GE-Safran joint venture currently at work on the open-fan RISE project. Boeing specified an expected preference for ducted turbofans rather than the more experimental unducted open-rotor engines that some rivals are toying with. The company left the door cracked for more radical options if performance and supportability align.

The aircraft in question would be Boeing’s first brand-new narrowbody design since the original 737 took flight in the 1960s, assuming the company can avoid another MAX-style retrofit strategy. The timing, however, remains vague. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company is not yet ready on any of the three key fronts: market demand, technical readiness, or financial health.

“We’re not ready on any of those work streams today, but we need to be when the market is ready for a new aircraft,” Ortberg stated.

Still, the fact that this is at least the fourth such RFI to engine makers hints that Boeing is slowly firming up plans… even if it remains publicly noncommittal. When the plane maker does lay down a clearer path, it will likely be met with intense scrutiny due to its heavy historical baggage.

CFM is likely to pitch a ducted variant of its RISE engine, which would fall short of the 20% fuel-burn improvement goal of its open-fan sibling, but might be more palatable to airlines leery of exotic new designs. Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce are also expected to deliver their geared fan concepts, based on current NGSA submissions to Airbus.

FMI: www.boeing.com