Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Boeing CEO promises company is turning around…again April 24, 2024
- Solid start for stand-alone GE Aerospace despite cuts to LEAP output April 23, 2024
- SPEEA, Boeing at impasse over safety program, union says April 23, 2024
- Better transparency needed on Boeing’s 1Q earnings call April 22, 2024
- Bjorn’s Corner: New engine development. Part 4. Propulsive efficiency April 19, 2024
Boeing at APEX, Pratt & Whitney’s dilemma
Over at our affiliate, AirInsight, there is a 27 minute video of Randy Tinseth, VP of Marketing at Boeing, making a presentation and our think piece about Pratt & Whitney’s dilemma following the launch of the Boeing 737 MAX.
See both pieces here.
Additional: Aspire Aviation today published a long piece about the 777X. See the story here. Update, Sept. 14: Aeroturbopower comments on the fuel burn analysis for the 777X. Update, 230pm PDT: Jon Ostrower has this article on 777X.
Odds and Ends: ARJ-21, C919, MAX, 777X
There are several stories of note today:
Aviation Week: China’s turboprops exports lead the way.
Aviation Week: Plan for C919 hits snags.
FlightGlobal: Caution welcomed on Boeing’s 737 MAX.
FlightGlobal: Emirates presses Boeing for better 777.
Seattle Times: WA State has to keep 737 MAX.
737-9 Mission creep, Odds and Ends and 500,000
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh was clear: he wants changes to the 737 MAX to be kept to a minimum.
This will keep the R&D cost down–a figure Corporate CFO James Bell said on the 2Q earnings call would be 10%-15% that of an entirely new airplane ($10bn-$12bn, depending on who’s figuring; it is unclear how much of the R&D is paid by CFM).
But there is pressure to add range to the 737-MAX 9 (henceforth we’ll be referring to individual models of the MAX series as the -7, -8 and -9 and the family as a whole as just MAX). The 737-9 falls short of a true 757 replacement in range.
Air Show in Everett
During the Labor Day Weekend, the Historic Flight* based at Paine Field in Everett (WA) held its annual air show. All the warbirds owned by the foundation are airworthy. It’s a small collection but the air show brings in a variety of other planes, nearly all of which are airworthy.
Here are a few of the planes, photos we took this weekend.
This restored Boeing 40C is the oldest Boeing aircraft flying. It’s owned by a company in Oregon.
This ME262 is airworthy. It is a replica, one of five, built from the original blueprints.
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.
Boeing wants earlier EIS for 737MAX
Boeing yesterday announced a 2017 entry-into-service date for the 737 MAX, perhaps as much as two years after the advertised October 2015 EIS for the Airbus A320neo, but officials have challenged the development team to accelerate this time line.
We earlier reported that Boeing wanted an EIS of 2016/17, but in the press conference Tuesday, Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes talked only of 2017. After the formal event, Nicole Piasecki, VP of Business Development and Strategic Integration, told a small group of reporters that Boeing wants to advance that date.
“Jim wants to under-promise and over-deliver, so he is challenging the team to bring the airplane to market as soon as possible,” she said. “Given our recent track record, we’re being very conservative—not conservative, we’re being very prudent, I should say—and disciplined to make sure that whatever we talk to our customers about, we actually have a plan to deliver on. I think you’ll see improvements on the 2017, but again our team is very disciplined and we’re going to make sure we have a plan before we make a commitment.”
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.