Aircraft
Boeing Keeps an Open Mind on Open Fan as It Rebuilds 737 Output
BCA leader Stephanie Pope talks propulsion and production ahead of Farnborough
Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, walks off stage at the ceremonial opening of Everett's North Line on July 10.
Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, walks off stage at the ceremonial opening of Everett's North Line on July 10. © Jennifer Buchanan/Seattle Times/Pool

There is a prevailing view within the aerospace industry that Boeing is skeptical of CFM International’s RISE open-fan engine concept, but Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) president and CEO Stephanie Pope says that the airframer has not definitively ruled out such an engine architecture for its next clean-sheet aircraft design.

Ahead of the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, Leeham News and Analysis asked Pope whether Boeing could be convinced of the open-fan concept’s potential. She did not respond with a hard “no.”