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The Wall Street Journal has an article about Boeing's plans for a new narrowbody to replace the 737. The headline is "Boeing has Started Working on a 737 MAX Replacement". The article is by Benjamin Katz and Drew Fitzgerald:
Boeing is planning a new single-aisle airplane that would succeed the 737 MAX, according to people familiar with the matter, a long-term bid to recover business lost to rival Airbus during its series of safety and quality problems.
Earlier this year, Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce Holdingsin the U.K., two of the people said, where they discussed a new engine for the aircraft. Ortberg appointed a new senior product chief in Boeing’s commercial plane business, whose prior role was developing a new type of aircraft.
Boeing has also been designing the flight deck of a new narrow-body aircraft, according to a person familiar with the plans.
This new aircraft is in early-stage development and plans are still taking shape, some of the people said.
Boeing’s plans represent a shift for the company, which had put some new aircraft development work on the back burner while it navigated multiple challenges. They are also a sign that the company is betting that a cutting-edge plane design could power its business for the next few decades.
Ortberg hasn’t publicly detailed any plans for a 737 successor. He has consistently said that fixing Boeing’s long-running quality and manufacturing problems, and shoring up its balance sheet, are his priorities.
At a recent investor conference, Ortberg said the company is looking to finish up various projects, which “will also free up a lot of capital for us to focus on what’s next.”
Boeing said in a statement that it remains focused on its recovery plan, including delivering on a backlog of roughly 6,000 commercial airplanes and certifying already-announced aircraft models.
“Our team evaluates the market, advances key technologies, and improves our financial performance, so that we will be ready when the time is right to move forward with a new product,” the company added.
Boeing’s aircraft-development programs have struggled in recent years. The 737 MAX entered commercial service in May 2017. Two deadly crashes involving the jets resulted in a global grounding of the fleet in 2019 and delayed two new variants. The company later dropped plans to build a new midsize aircraft that it had been trumpeting. It is years behind on a new upgrade for its 777.
The crashes and other safety problems dented customers’ confidence, spurred turnover in Boeing’s senior management and prompted regulatory crackdowns.
As Boeing struggled, rival Airbus didn’t sit still. The European aircraft manufacturer has grown to be the world’s biggest plane maker by total deliveries and order backlog.
Despite starting production roughly 20 years after its rival, Airbus deliveries of A320 narrow-body jets have caught up to Boeing’s deliveries of its 737s.
Airbus’s gains are bringing it billions of dollars to invest in its own next-generation narrow-body, an aircraft that it wants to deliver to customers in the late 2030s.
Boeing’s previous chief, Dave Calhoun, considered reviving the effort for a midsize aircraft to gradually replace the 737 family and discussed the idea with customers. Those grand plans took a back seat to more-pressing problems following a midair door-plug blowout that exposed persistent manufacturing problems and led to Calhoun’s departure in 2024.
Boeing has historically signaled development plans years in advance to entice airline customers, lock in commitments from suppliers and drum up interest from investors.
Ortberg, who has led Boeing for just over a year, has had an eye on Boeing’s next big play.
Building an all-new aircraft, known as a clean-sheet design, can take over a decade and cost tens of billions of dollars. Manufacturers typically look for at least a 15% jump in fuel efficiency when deciding whether to embark on a major plane program. That could come from new engine architecture, lighter materials or radical changes to the airframe.
Boeing is planning a new single-aisle airplane that would succeed the 737 MAX, according to people familiar with the matter, a long-term bid to recover business lost to rival Airbus during its series of safety and quality problems.
Earlier this year, Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce Holdingsin the U.K., two of the people said, where they discussed a new engine for the aircraft. Ortberg appointed a new senior product chief in Boeing’s commercial plane business, whose prior role was developing a new type of aircraft.
Boeing has also been designing the flight deck of a new narrow-body aircraft, according to a person familiar with the plans.
This new aircraft is in early-stage development and plans are still taking shape, some of the people said.
Boeing’s plans represent a shift for the company, which had put some new aircraft development work on the back burner while it navigated multiple challenges. They are also a sign that the company is betting that a cutting-edge plane design could power its business for the next few decades.
Ortberg hasn’t publicly detailed any plans for a 737 successor. He has consistently said that fixing Boeing’s long-running quality and manufacturing problems, and shoring up its balance sheet, are his priorities.
At a recent investor conference, Ortberg said the company is looking to finish up various projects, which “will also free up a lot of capital for us to focus on what’s next.”
Boeing said in a statement that it remains focused on its recovery plan, including delivering on a backlog of roughly 6,000 commercial airplanes and certifying already-announced aircraft models.
“Our team evaluates the market, advances key technologies, and improves our financial performance, so that we will be ready when the time is right to move forward with a new product,” the company added.
Boeing’s aircraft-development programs have struggled in recent years. The 737 MAX entered commercial service in May 2017. Two deadly crashes involving the jets resulted in a global grounding of the fleet in 2019 and delayed two new variants. The company later dropped plans to build a new midsize aircraft that it had been trumpeting. It is years behind on a new upgrade for its 777.
The crashes and other safety problems dented customers’ confidence, spurred turnover in Boeing’s senior management and prompted regulatory crackdowns.
As Boeing struggled, rival Airbus didn’t sit still. The European aircraft manufacturer has grown to be the world’s biggest plane maker by total deliveries and order backlog.
Despite starting production roughly 20 years after its rival, Airbus deliveries of A320 narrow-body jets have caught up to Boeing’s deliveries of its 737s.
Airbus’s gains are bringing it billions of dollars to invest in its own next-generation narrow-body, an aircraft that it wants to deliver to customers in the late 2030s.
Boeing’s previous chief, Dave Calhoun, considered reviving the effort for a midsize aircraft to gradually replace the 737 family and discussed the idea with customers. Those grand plans took a back seat to more-pressing problems following a midair door-plug blowout that exposed persistent manufacturing problems and led to Calhoun’s departure in 2024.
Boeing has historically signaled development plans years in advance to entice airline customers, lock in commitments from suppliers and drum up interest from investors.
Ortberg, who has led Boeing for just over a year, has had an eye on Boeing’s next big play.
Building an all-new aircraft, known as a clean-sheet design, can take over a decade and cost tens of billions of dollars. Manufacturers typically look for at least a 15% jump in fuel efficiency when deciding whether to embark on a major plane program. That could come from new engine architecture, lighter materials or radical changes to the airframe.
