Boeing Shrugs Off 737 Challenges In China

Boeing says that no matter what competitors like Comac and Airbus do in the coming years it will take at least 50% of China’s single-aisle airliner market — which Boeing predicts will total 3,000 aircraft worth $300 billion over the next two decades. There are 475 Boeing 737s flying in China today and the potential for more than 300 further orders. Looking to the Chinese market, Beverly Wyse, Boeing VP & GM 737 Program, says the 737 will maintain a lead in fuel efficiency and aircraft reliability that will keep it ahead of the pack. “The 737 already has the highest dispatch reliability in its class at 99.8% and that’s against our established, long-term and very successful competitor,” says Wyse. “The Chinese passenger will get more and more discriminating, so reliability matters – and at the same time airlines won’t be spending so much on maintenance.” “We have a 737 performance improvement package coming next year that will deliver a 2% improvement in fuel burn and we are looking at additional improvements over the next decade, one of which could be a new engine.” Boeing feels it has the measure of the Comac C919, which John Hamilton, 737 chief project engineer, asserts “is still a paper airplane.” “With new engine technology, and maybe a re-engining, we can easily exceed the capabilities of the C919, with a more sizeable improvement (Boeing’s 737 replacement) coming down the line in 2020.”