Boeing Hints At New Direction For NMA Refocus

SINGAPORE - Boeing appears to be redirecting its next new airliner project to compete more directly with the long-range Airbus A321XLR rather than take on the broader 757-767 replacement market previously studied under the shelved New Midmarket Airplane (NMA) project.

“We are learning what the (A321) XLR is doing, or not. That also gives you a good idea of what the market may want,” Boeing Commercial Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing Ihssane Mounir, told Aviation Week during the Singapore Airshow. His comments offer the first new clues to where Boeing's product development efforts may refocus in the wake of the company’s decision to go back to the drawing board on the NMA.

Since Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun revealed the decision in January that the “NMA project is going to be a new clean sheet of paper,” there has been speculation the effort may be redirected to cover a new airliner family that could cover the present 737 MAX as well as the 757. However, Mounir’s comments suggest the prime focus may be shifting to settle primarily on the 200 to 240-seat, 4,700 nm.-range category of the new Airbus. Launched in 2019, the A321XLR will be delivered from 2023 and has already taken 450 orders including contracts from both American Airlines and United Airlines.

Provisionally targeted at entry-into-service in 2025, the NMA grew out of 757-replacement studies and over the past five years was expanded to include a successor to the 767. The program was focused on two main versions, the 225-seat NMA-6X and 275-seat NMA-7X, with the larger of the pair expected to be developed first. But Mounir says “with NMA we never crossed the line with customers in terms of ‘this is perfect for me’. It is frankly something we looked at two years ago and when you look at the market today you have to re-address if it still makes sense to have exactly this concept.”

Boeing has “learned a lot,” from the NMA study – including both market expectations on operating costs and pricing, as well as how to develop a new production system targeted at making twin-aisle designs for single-aisle manufacturing costs. “That’s going to allow me to do things I haven’t been able to in the past,” says Mounir. “So now if I take that input and look at the production system maturity what can I come up with? Is it the same NMA I could do before or is there something else I could do?

“The beauty of it is we haven’t launched anything so you can always refine the concept and figure out what the right aircraft is for the marketplace,” says Mounir.  “The product development team will redirect their efforts to look at a fresh concept and internalize all we have learned through the exercises we have had with customers, but I can tell you we are not flogging anything that we are discussing with customers right now.”

The move, if confirmed, also raises questions about Boeing’s longer-term replacement strategy for the 737 MAX and how this might be influenced by the development of a new aircraft sized to compete more directly with the A321XLR. As Boeing conventionally develops families of aircraft, a downward shift in size for any new 757 successor aircraft could also potentially entail the development of a smaller stablemate that would encroach on the upper end of the current 737 range.

Mounir also scotches speculation that Boeing could dust-off its long-abandoned 787-3 derivative as a potential replacement for the larger NMA market sector. “The key to the NMA is the production system – and the production system around the 787 produces true long haul capability with a certain rate and a certain yield. You have got to be able to match yield to pricing, so if a 787-3 is produced within the same system I just don’t see how you could do that within the same production system from a yield standpoint.”

Guy Norris

Guy is a Senior Editor for Aviation Week, covering technology and propulsion. He is based in Colorado Springs.

Comments

5 Comments
I feel both Boeing and Airbus have 'used up' all the variations for a conventional wing and tube arrangement, something radically new is required if they are to reach single aisle operating costs with a twin aisle layout!
The A321XLR is an expanded 321/320 competes directly with the extended 737 757 class. So if Boeing ends up going with a new design to address the A321XLR its essentially going to design an aircraft that would replace both the 757 & 737, not the 767, all it needs to account for is a new family that covers both the smaller 737 & larger 757 passenger ranges. If Boeing wants to go smaller it has its Embraer E-Jet/E2 family now.

The real NMA should be the 787-3 derivative since the development work is mostly done.
In the 757/737 passenger range there's really no need for a twin isle. It's way to early for something too radical for probably 10-15 years to allow for the braced-wing and/or integrated blended fuselage tech to mature & be tested with proof-of-concept prototypes.
Boeing really needs to create a direct 757 successor. I’ve compared my passenger experiences on Delta 757 and 321, and the 757 is a superior aircraft for many features: the 757 has boarding from the B door, the 321 doesn’t; the front of the 757 is better laid out than the 321 (or 738/739 for that matter); and the 757 clearly has better performance than the 321 (the 757 gets up to altitude more quickly; the 321 seems to have anemic performance). I recently flew SLC-MCO on a 321 with a major front spawning T-storms across much of the route and it felt like the 321 was struggling to get to decent attitude. A 757 would have gotten up to 39K ft, or higher, at the start. For bad weather, I would rather be on a 757 than a 321.
Given the situation that Boeing is in now, the appropriate choice is to follow Airbus' lead for re-winging and re-engining the 737 series for the MOM sector. At this time, there are no technologies available that can leapfrog the A320 series. This approach will also leverage the efficient Spirit 737 production system.

This to come up with the 737 NEW (New Engine Wing) by 2023.

Engine will be an uprated LEAP-1B for a 4500 nm range 230 passenger airliner.

New wing can have the following options, final selection depending on budget and market study.
Level 1 - enlarged MAX wing for higher lift and larger fuel capacity.
Level 2 - Level 1 with new higher landing gear.
Level 3 - all new composite wing with new higher landing gear.

Additional improvements that are transferable to other 737 models are
1. Streamlining
2. 3rd AOA sensor
3. Fuselage optimization specially width and strength
4. Improved autopilot
5. Weight improvements


The 767X simple re-engining and streamlining will complement the 737 NEW. This will be for the market of the KC-46 B version, civilian cargo (UPS, FedEx, etc.), and a 767-replacement airliner. 2024 can be the possible start of commercial service.

At this point in time, the ovoid 797 NMA as a 737 and 757 replacement will be better for the 2030’s. And it may also have a new airliner design configuration.

Rene G. Abad
AirPino PH