Boeing Shelves New Midsize Airplane Project, Reviews Options

Boeing's new chief executive has sent the aerospace giant back to the drawing board on proposals for a new mid-market aircraft, effectively shelving in their current form plans worth $15bn-$20bn (€13bn-€18bn) that had been overtaken by the 737 MAX crisis.

A decision on whether to launch a New Midsize Airplane (NMA) seating 220-270 passengers, which seemed imminent barely a year ago, had already been postponed as Boeing gave all its attention to the grounding of the smaller 737 MAX after two fatal crashes.

But days after taking the helm with a mandate to lift Boeing out of its 10-month-old reputational crisis, chief executive Dave Calhoun said the competitive playing field had changed.

"Since the first clean sheet of paper was taken to it, things have changed a bit ... the competitive playing field is a little different," he told journalists on a conference call on Wednesday.

"We're going to start with a clean sheet of paper again; I'm looking forward to that," Calhoun said.

He also spoke of a fresh approach to the market.

A Boeing spokesman said Calhoun had ordered up a new study on what kind of aircraft was needed. New aircraft typically take six-seven years or more to bring to market once a decision is made, though Boeing aims to shorten that in part through digital technology and new business models designed around the NMA. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Reuters website.

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