There is a real feeding frenzy around the future Airbus 320NEO (New Engine Option) with some 1200 orders and commitments having been booked by the manufacturer, almost double of what they expected. Boeing’s answer is the 737MAX and this old/new aircraft is also selling like hot cakes.
So how did we get from the NSA and 737NE to the 737MAX?
Airlines have been urging Airbus and Boeing for some time to come up with a replacement for the 320 and 737 families. The airlines had pretty clear ideas about what they wanted and this focused mainly on fuel efficiency and environmental sustainability. For the manufacturers however the task was anything but simple.
Quite apart from the fact that both the legacy 320 and the 737 new generation are selling very well (and hence there not being much of a motivation for the airframers to spend money on a replacement), there was the very clear engineering question: how could such a new aircraft be built so that it would be technologically future proof for the next 30-40 years? A shorter life-span would simply not make economic sense. Keep in mind that Boeing is introducing the 737MAX almost 50 years after the original 737 was launched.
Although a lot of innovation has gone into types like the 787 and A350, they are still traditional design that fall short of what we could call aircraft of the future.
Providing the quantum leap in fuel efficiency desired by the airlines would require even better new materials, aerodynamics and engines, very little of which was mature enough to go on a real aircraft.
Boeing was talking about the NSA, the New Small Aircraft as the follow up to the 737 even while Airbus was looking into re-engining the 320, a kind of half-way house that would bring efficiencies without the huge cost of developing a completely new aircraft.
Initially airlines seemed to favor a new type but with fuel prices once again climbing and environmental pressures increasing, the attraction of a re-engined 320 that would be available in the 2015 time-frame tipped the scales and they indicated that their preference was moving towards re-engining.
Airbus decided to take the dip and announced the 320NEO. The NEO will not be anything revolutionary but it will close the gap between the efficiency of the 737 and the original 320 that has existed for many years. For some reason, Boeing was still dragging their feet and the NSA was still the future for them.
In time however Boeing was forced to face reality and information started to leak about a 737NE (for New Engines?) that would bring a 10-12 % fuel burn advantage over the 737NG (the current crop of 737s) and an 8 % operating cost per seat advantage over the Airbus 320NEO, basically reestablishing the original efficiency difference.
As it turned out, the 737NE was never offered as such and when Boeing management finally decided to formerly launch the re-engined 737, it got the branding 737MAX. I am not sure this is the best way to call a new incarnation of an old favorite but let’s trust the PR folks at Boeing that they know what they are doing.
So, what will the 737MAX bring to the table?
Little talked about but there were plans for an upgrade to the NG standard which would have been the 737NG+, a product conceived to counter the A320NEO, making the 737NG family competitive with the NEO but without new engines. So the 737MAX will have all the improvements originally planned for the 737NG+ as well as new engines as the baseline for the new version. Although not a lot of detail is available as to what this all means in terms of changes overall, it is easy to see that this baseline will already represent a formidable competitor to the NEO.
Without any doubt, Boeing will use this opportunity to fine tune the 737 even further while still keeping the scope of changes limited and hence limiting costs also.
Changes to the fuselage will aim to reduce drag and it is possible that the 737 will get main landing gear doors made of lightweight composite materials.
Changes to the wing will focus on improving aerodynamic efficiency and also accommodate the shape of the nacelles housing the new engines.
System changes are expected to bring weight reduction and better maintainability with LED lighting and increased use of digital technology but no revolutionary changes.
The 737MAX will have higher gross weight than its predecessors and so the main landing gear will be strengthened. At this point in time it is not yet sure whether the new engines will come with a fan diameter that would require Boeing to increase the nose gear leg length but provisions in the new design have been made should this be necessary.
The 737MAX is slated for service entry in 2017. This in itself limits the amount of new technology that can be incorporated in the new design but even with what is possible, the 737MAX will be a worthy member of the venerable 737 family.
Will the 737MAX sell? You bet! American Airlines has placed a firm order for 100 units and altogether Boeing holds 496 commitments from five airlines. Not bad for an aircraft that has been in the catalogue for less than three months!
