Airlines Indicate What They Want In MOM Aircraft

First surprise: Airlines, traditionally conservative when it comes to innovations that are challenging to much of their operational status quo, seem to be prepared to reintroduce widebody aircraft into medium-haul flying. Sixty percent of the carriers participating in the survey would consider ordering a small widebody aircraft, provided it fits into existing airport gate infrastructure.

Of the airlines interested in buying a MOM jet, 69% want an aircraft that flies somewhere between 2,000-5,000 nm.

That wide spread of range requirements is a major issue for aircraft designers: A significant number of airlines merely want more passenger capacity; others want range, and some want both.

To make things even more complex, almost half of the airlines surveyed that would buy a MOM aircraft have defined their preferred two-class seating capacity as being 150-199 seats. Only 27% want 200-249 seats and fewer want an even larger aircraft. Those answers suggest a new midsize aircraft does not have to be larger than 250 seats, and its smallest variant could be smaller than Boeing and Airbus currently think.

Airlines also have concrete ideas about materials: A clear majority wants the fuselage and wings to be made of composite materials—which today are characteristic of only the most modern widebody aircraft, such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 and unheard of in the narrowbody space.

Eighty-two percent of those that are interested can imagine buying it before 2023. A possible huge rise in fuel costs is not necessarily a driver—many carriers would order a midsize aircraft even if fuel stays at or below $70 per barrel.

Given the level of demand for a smaller jet, just developing a shrunken version of an aircraft optimized for larger capacity will not be good enough. Significant investment would likely have to be made to ensure key design features such as wings, empennage and engines fit its size and are optimized for the segment.

Survey respondents see North America as the region in which they would be likely to operate most MOM aircraft. They would expect to fly significant numbers of the aircraft in Western Europe and Asia as well. 

A new MOM aircraft cannot be much wider than an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 if it is to use narrowbody gates at airports.