Aircraft
Chances of a 737 Re-engining Growing Slimmer
The case for a “re-engined” Boeing 737<

The case for a “re-engined” Boeing 737 appears as weak as, if not weaker than at any time since the Chicago-based aerospace giant began exploring the prospect long before Airbus launched the A320neo, judging by the comments of Boeing CEO Jim McNerney at Thursday’s Cowen Aerospace & Defense Conference in New York.

“I think, with the Neo, what we’ve seen so far is Airbus focus on [its] current customer base, which has shown some vulnerability to the [Bombardier] C Series,” said McNerney. “Now that doesn’t mean that, as they get deeper into development, they’re not going to approach our customer base…The Neo, on paper, closes the value gap that we have enjoyed…and I think part of the rationale of the Neo is to close that gap.