Redirecting Focus On Tech Development Rather Than Airplane Design

It looks like Boeing's best selling jet, the 737, will get a few more years of production... with the latest announcement from Boeing that research into a replacement for the narrow-body airliner has been pushed back in favor of further research on technology innovation.

In 2006, Boeing announced the formation of a team to research and perform preliminary studies on the design configuration for a replacement aircraft for the popular 737 series. The Seattle Times reported last week Boeing's shift of plans for the 737 replacement team.

The manufacturer announced Thursday the study team has been absorbed into the broader product-development unit and has shifted focus away from the goal of specific airplane designs after the manufacturer decided the effort to replace the 737 was premature.

"We've reduced our airplane-design effort and are focusing more on the technology breakthroughs," said Boeing spokeswoman Sandy Angers. "We need technology breakthroughs in engines, aerodynamics, materials and other systems."

To justify the launch of a new jet, Boeing determined it needs to find technologies providing performance improvements of 15 to 20 percent as currently demanded by airlines. Boeing states such improvements can't be accomplished by merely scaling down an existing next generation airliner such as the 787.

"You can't simply shrink the 787 and expect the same benefits for the narrow-body market," Angers said. "We've got difficult challenges."

Angers said Boeing is not pinning down a target date for the 737's replacement beyond "the latter half of the next decade."

Boeing may wait to see what primary rival Airbus will do with its A320 line, competitor to the 737. In the Times report, Airbus' chief operating officer and top salesman, John Leahy, cited 2020 as a likely delivery date for the A320 replacement.

An announcement from either company on a solid target date for their narrowbody product replacement would most likely prompt the other to do the same.

With over 5,700 aircraft delivered to date and another 2,200 on order through a production schedule stretching to 2014, the 737 series still remains a commercially viable product for Boeing in the near term.

Leeham Company aviation analyst Scott Hamilton told the Times that pushing out the 737 replacement could mean Boeing would first upgrade its widebody 777 to counter the threat from the Airbus A350 -- either with significant enhancements to the 777. or with an all-new large airplane.

In an address to analysts in Seattle on Wednesday, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson reinforced the effort to develop a 737 replacement has not been abandoned, only pushed out to ensure the resulting product has a long market life. "We're continuing our research effort until we find the right solution," Carson said. "It has to be a 25-year product."

FMI: www.boeing.com