Engines
Rolls-Royce Skeptical of Re-engined Airbus A320 and Boeing 737
Should Airbus and Boeing put upgraded engines on their single-aisle airliners while waiting for the crop of next-gen turbofans with their promise of much b
“The numbers do not stack up” for re-engining either the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, Robert Nuttal, Rolls-Royce head of strategic marketing, said at the Farnborough airshow.
“The numbers do not stack up” for re-engining either the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, Robert Nuttal, Rolls-Royce head of strategic marketing, said at the Farnborough airshow.

Should Airbus and Boeing put upgraded engines on their single-aisle airliners while waiting for the crop of next-gen turbofans with their promise of much better fuel, emissions and noise numbers?

Robert Nuttal, Rolls-Royce head of strategic marketing, thinks not. “The numbers do not stack up” for re-engining either the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, he told AIN at the Farnborough airshow. “First, we don’t think re-engining offers any significant net financial benefit to the industry. Second, at the manufacturing level the program will be only half as long as a new engine program, so the returns are far less. And third,” he said, “if re-engining occurs, it delays an all-new aircraft, which will bring real benefits in terms of fuel economy and emissions.”