Alaunch cfm6/13/2023 ![]() Model-based systems engineering and development techniques and full-size determinant assembly processes honed on the T-7A jet trainer will be key to Boeing’s new commercial program. Although a subset of the NMA, the aircraft is expected to be a “really differentiated product,” says Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun. Thought to be dubbed the -5X, the aircraft project draws on the new midmarket airplane (NMA) initiative that Boeing shelved in early 2020 in favor of a direct competitor to the A321XLR. The flight deck is traditionally an early area of design focus for new aircraft, and this, coupled with the unusual timing of the recruitment drive during a downturn for the company, strongly suggests the move is associated with the new midsize project. 12), the company has quietly begun recruiting a team of cockpit design engineers-providing further clues that work is beginning on development of the aircraft’s flight deck.Īlthough Boeing continues to update and support the flight decks of the current product line, the rash of new job postings in this specialization is thought to signal a significant increase in work on a new product development. Credit: AirbusĪlmost a month after Aviation Week broke the news that Boeing was taking the first steps toward launching its first all-new airliner since the 787 ( AW&ST Feb. Airbus has 420 firm commitments for its A321XLR. Reinvigorated competition from Boeing in that space may force Airbus to reconsider its options, but any action will depend on the -5X’s specifications and market success. Boeing’s -5X project is directed at much of the same market in which the A330neo has underperformed. The A321XLR had begun to eat into the traditional widebody market before the pandemic.Īirbus can wait to see what Boeing decides and react accordingly. The A220 is a superior offering in the small narrowbody market in competition with the Boeing 737-7, and it provides strategic options should the OEM decide to stretch the airframe further. Its A320neo family is dominating the narrowbody market. Boeing targets full compatibility with its aircraft by 2030.Īirbus, by contrast, has no plans to launch a new, conventionally powered aircraft for the time being. Instead, they will focus on whatever technologies are available and combine them with extensive use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Boeing and Embraer contend it will take longer for disruptive technology to play a major role in aviation’s efforts to become carbon-neutral by 2050 and massively reduce emissions early in the effort. That they are being pursued at all shows a fundamental difference in thinking among the major aircraft-makers. The aircraft, if launched in the next 1-2 years, would be available well before 2030. Embraer targets 2022 launch of new turboprop. ![]() Boeing pursues -5X project with key suppliers.OEMs proceed with conventional aircraft designs.Despite all that, indications are that two of the remaining three Western OEMs-Boeing and Embraer-are seriously considering launching new, conventionally powered aircraft based on current technology. Add in the accelerating disruption by emerging technologies such as hybrid-electric and hydrogen propulsion, and successful business plans become difficult to achieve. The dominating factors-large, young, in-service fleets combined with big backlogs and airlines and aircraft manufacturers in financial distress-are not good conditions for initiating multibillion-dollar investments in new development programs. Then the COVID-19 pandemic turned what had felt too good to be true into the industry’s worst nightmare and its new reality. Airlines went through a superprofitable supercycle until 2019, enjoying growth rates way above the historical average translating into previously unheard-of aircraft orders, backlogs and production rates, with the latest versions of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 each securing several thousands of orders. The parameters were set for what could have been a lost decade. ![]()
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