Posted on 09/13/2006 4:08:33 PM PDT by ConservativeStatement
WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is weighing options for replacing its best-selling 737 and one scenario might include separate aircraft for two markets, the company's senior marketing official said on Wednesday.
The 737 family covers the 110- to 200-seat range and is the most popular commercial plane ever with more than 5,000 produced in nearly four decades. There have been several 737 upgrades, including a major overhaul in the early 1990s.
With airlines seeking variety in seating capacity and more fuel and operating efficiency, Boeing is studying how to meet expectations and continue to offer a workhorse for the short- and medium-haul market.
A decision is nearly two years off and production several years away but one option under study, said Boeing marketing vice president Randy Baseler, is dipping into the under 100-seat market dominated by regional jets and satisfying customers who want more than 200 seats at the same time.
Boeing currently does not manufacture a regional jet, a market dominated by Canada's Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Brazil's Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research). Boeing would also compete with any changes by Europe's Airbus (EAD.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), which now makes the A320 to compete with the 737.
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
That would be Airbust :-)
It will be interesting to see if their new airplane will have the same nose and fuselage cross section as the current 737 (which goes all the way back to the 707, and I guess, the 367-80).
Yikes, what will SWA do without new 737s? Nice to see Boeing still remembers that many customers fly mid-size jets. I wonder if they'll next work on a competitor to the CRJ?
Is there any sort of tax break or incentive to American based Airlines that buy boeing
The Dash80 had a smaller fuselage
I did not know that!
Boeing hit it out of the park with the 737.Why change it. Its mission has not changed and midsized carriers will continue to purchase this plane because of its versatility. Damn hard to beat. get that airburst?
Another moron who shouldn't be writing aviation stories. Over 13,000 DC-3s were produced, just to name one.
The replacement for the 737 (or as some are calling it, the 737-1000) will be based on 787 technologies. It will be more fuel efficient which is the most important thing in this day and age.
It's a common mistake. He should have said "commercial jets."
"Another moron who shouldn't be writing aviation stories. Over 13,000 DC-3s were produced, just to name one"
But that includes military variants, not just commercial sales. Also at only about 21 passengers per DC-3, the 737 fleet probably far surpassed the DC-3 in the total number of passengers carried, even with the DC-3 being around some 60+ years.
Now, be kind. For modern journalists, life began the day they were born. In this case probably around 1982.
Because time doesn't stand still. The Next Generation 737s are amazingly versatile aircraft, but Boeing still needs to be working on their successor(s), to beat Airbus to the punch. The A320 series are pretty good planes in and of themselves, but Boeing had a significant advantage over Airbus there in that they had an established customer base and they knew what the customer base wanted to see in that segment, hence the Next Generation 737s (the -600 through -900 series).
Boeing can't sit still. Working on the 737's heir apparent has to start now.
}:-)4
If it broke, don't fix it, if the 737 sells, and customers still want to but it, then why change ,, other than making it a full composite body like the 787, and put fuel efficient engines on the 737 ( Smaller version of the GenX engines ) and make it more commonality ( as in technical advances ) with the 787.
I agree. If they standardize across variants and produce them with the SWA model in mind, they can sell thousands of these planes.
The domestic carrier industry is looking for three things: 1. Fuel effeciency 2. Ability to serve small to medium markets 3. Low maintenance.
If Boeing satisfies these requirements, it will be a major success and I will be purchasing Boeing stock.
Think. Design. Build. Sell.
I don't think the replacement for the 737NG will be called a 737. I don't even think it will be just one plane. The Next Generation 737's are very different than the originals. The original 737-100 and 200 series were intended for short trips often to aiports with little ground equipment. The Next generation 737's were designed to fly coast to coast, replace 727's, and even fly ETOPS 180 routes. Boeing needs to have a light 100 seat plane that can compete against Embraer and have a 200 seat plane that can replace the 757-200 on long thin transatlantic routes.
If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.
I don't think it will be called a 737 either but right now, for lack of a better name, some are calling it the 737-1000.
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