Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Five for Five: Air India crash points to systemic problems at Boeing that CEO Ortberg must fix June 15, 2025
- Airbus sees Boeing as medium-term competitor, with Comac next June 14, 2025
- Boeing bullish on 20-year forecast, despite short-term headwinds June 14, 2025
- Embraer’s 20-year market forecast under 150 seats: fewer turboprops, jets about the same June 14, 2025
- Airbus Canada CEO: Airbus is here to stay in Canada June 14, 2025
Assessing the 737-900ER vs Airbus NEO
AeroTurboPower has an interesting piece looking at the fuel burn and cash costs of the 737-900ER vs the A320neo and A321neo.
The post is noteworthy as an independent analysis to Airbus or Boeing. Boeing, of course, claims the 737-900ER is more efficient that either the A321 Legacy or A321neo.
737MAX costs vs A320neo
AirInsight takes a look at the Boeing claims of 4%-7% cost advantages of the 737MAX vs the A320neo. The analysis comes to a slightly different conclusion than Boeing.
The X-Factor, this time at Boeing
Boeing announced the name of its new 737 re-engined aircraft and like Airbus for the A350 XWB, there is now and X-Factor with Boeing: the 737 MAX-7/8/9.
Precise details on the MAX remain uncertain; Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said engineering is still deciding whether to go for a 66-inch or 68-inch fan diameter for the CFM LEAP-1B. Although Albaugh said it is believe the larger fan still will not require a longer nose gear, with a ripple-effect of changes to the fuselage, he added that there is a contingency determined if a longer gear proves necessary with the larger fan.
Albaugh said final design configuration is still some weeks away.
It’s official: 737NE launched
Here is Flight Global’s story with a couple of artist renderings of the airplane.
Boeing made it official this morning: launch of the 737NE (New Engine) has been approved, bypassing the Authority to Offer.
Boeing said it has commitments for 496 NEs from five airlines. Only American Airlines has been announced, for 100. We expect Southwest Airlines to be another. Delta Air Lines’ order for 100 737-900ERs did not include conversion rights.
Boeing claims the 737NE will be 7% more efficient operating costs than the A320neo, but in its announcement today did not detail how. Boeing also says the 737NE will have 16% lower fuel burn than today’s A320 and 4% lower than the neo.
737RE up at Boeing Board today
Update, 930am: The Daily Express of L0ndon (of all places) reported yesterday BCA got the approval Friday for the 737RE and that the announcement is to come today. Thanks to Heidi Wood of Morgan Stanley for this one.
Original Post:
Approval for Authority to Offer the 737 re-engine is expected to come from the Boeing Board of Directors today, according to sources.
Last Friday we published our story reporting this in Commercial Aviation Online in London and, per our arrangement with CAO, the following day on this site.
Bloomberg News published this story later on Friday also confirming ATO was expected.
Official launch of the airplane isn’t expected until fall, likely after the October Board meeting, predicts Credit Suisse.
Full design definition of the 737RE isn’t expected until next month, we are told. While it is widely expected that the CFM LEAP engine will have a 66-inch fan in order to avoid any changes to the landing gear that would complicate the work statement, as of today this isn’t definitively settled. A 68 inch fan is still a possibility, though it’s considered more remote.
Delta 737-900 order bypasses re-engine
Here is a story we did for Commercial Aviation Online:
| Date: | 26/08/2011 13:37 |
| Source: | Commercial Aviation Online |
| Location: | Seattle |
| By: | Scott Hamilton |
Delta Air Lines’ order for 100 Boeing 737-900ERs is a major boost to this model, but does nothing to add to the 737 re-engine programme.
The airline’s original request for proposals, issued early this year, came well before Boeing decided to go forward with the 737 re-engine and accordingly, the airplane was not included in any proposal from Boeing to Delta or in any analysis after American Airlines placed the launch order in July.
While there had been some expectation among Wall Street analysts that Delta would at the least have conversion rights in the contract to allow some deliveries in the 2017-2018 period of the 737 re-engine, CAO has confirmed with two sources that there is no provision. Delta would be taking too few airplanes in this period to be allocated valuable launch customer/launch operator delivery slots, according to one person familiar with the situation. Although American provisionally ordered 100 737REs, it does not want to be the launch operator and has slated first deliveries in 2018.