Would Replace The 737 MAX By 2030

Boeing's CEO Jim McNerney said that the company is already considering the airplane that would replace the single-aisle 737 MAX, and it would most likely be a composite-construction airplane.

McNerney (pictured in file photo) made the comments at an innovation summit held in Abu Dhabi. And he wasn't particularly vague about it. Reuters quotes McNerney as saying "By 2030, we will have a new airplane," and there is "a good chance it will be a composite airplane."

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that the new airplane would look a lot like existing 737s, but would be slightly larger. McNerney said that competition from foreign manufacturers was among the factors spurring the company to consider developing a new single-aisle airplane.

Boeing's 20-year market forecast projects that by 2033, 70 percent of new airplanes would be single-aisle. The fastest-growing markets will likely be in the Pacific Rim, including China and East Asia.

Meanwhile work continues on the 737 MAX, which expected to fly in 2016, and be in service with airlines by 2017.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.boeing.com