Boeing hints new Jet it’s testing with NASA could replace 737 Max
Boeing Co. is studying whether an innovative plane it's developing with NASA could find a home in its lineup next decade, the company's top executive said, offering a tantalizing glimpse into its product strategy.
Later this decade, the US planemaker plans to fly a full-scale prototype of the single-aisle jet, whose size could make it an eventual successor to the 737 Max. Boeing and NASA have been working on a concept for nearly 15 years that reduces drag — and fuel burn — with extra-long, thin wings that are stabilized by diagonal struts attached to the bottom of the plane's fuselage.
The design, combined with improvements in engine technology, could trim fuel consumption and emissions by around 30% over Boeing's 737 Max and Airbus SE's A320neo family — the current workhorses for airlines across the globe.
Such gains would meet the “standard needed to launch a commercial airplane,” Dave Calhoun, Boeing's chief executive officer, said Wednesday during an earnings conference call.
“The program that we've embarked on here is how do you commercialize it?” Calhoun said of its futuristic design. “So, there's real intent there to be able to do it.”
Boeing is currently testing digital tools it would use to design and manufacture the jets on several defense programs, he added.
Calhoun shocked Wall Street last year by declaring the aviation titan wouldn't undertake an all-new jetliner this decade to try and winnow Airbus's lead in the narrowbody market. Last week, NASA awarded Boeing $425 million to help create a new generation of greener jetliners ready to enter the commercial market in the 2030s. The planemaker and its partners will provide another $725 million.
The long-winged jet doesn't yet have a catchy moniker,
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