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Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 12/96 THE NEXT GENERATION 737 ROLLS-OUT IN DECEMBER by Norbert Burgner If things go according to the Boeing Company, Christmas will be celebrated three weeks earlier than usual in Seattle. The debut of the next 737 generation is scheduled for December 8, such executing the succession to the throne at the Olymp of the short and medium range airliners. With new models, the world's leading aircraft manufacturer plans to continue the most successful airliner story in the history of aviation. 3255 orders and no end in sight; Boeing has sold more 737s than other manufacturers have sold of their entire product scale. Despite all marketing strategies the competitors have to acknowledge: The 737 is the workhorse of the airline business. Since the program start in 1993, the US manufacturer has logged 395 orders of the newest versions of the medium-range jet. This is more than Airbus and McDonnell Douglas together accumulated in that period of time with their A319/320/321 (257) and MD-90 (125) respectively. However, grown customer relations and product quality are not the only secret to the 737's success: The good yields coming from the 747 monopoly put Boeing in a position to start a price battle especially in Europe in which the competitors from Toulouse and Long Beach could not compete in. In Germany, the airlines Hapag-Lloyd (16 -800), Germania (12 -700), and Air Berlin (six -800) have ordered new 737s from Seattle. Like the predecessors, the new model is available in three variants: As the smallest family member and successor of the -200 and -500, the 737-600 seats 108 to 132 passengers. The 737-700, like the old -300, has a capacity for 128 to 149 passengers, while the 737-800, the new flag-ship, is laid out to carry between 160 to 189 people, as the former -400 did. At the same time, the new models are to fly higher, faster, and especially farther than their predecessors. The 900 NM increase in range (now 3000) is mainly due to wing modifications. A five meter wider wing-span (34,3 m) and an extended wing chord (by 43 cm) gave room for approximately 30 percent more fuel (26036 l) along with a 25 larger wing area. A reduced thickness ratio of the wings together with the new engines are the prerequisite for a higher cruise speed. With Mach 0.79, the new 737 is supposed to be Mach 0.045 faster than the older models. With a thrust of 18500 to 24077 lbs, depending on the version, the new CFM56-7 turbofans are ten percent more powerful than their predecessors and are alleged to use approximately eight percent less fuel. Measured in direct operating costs, these modifications, according to Boeing, offer the operator of a 737-800 on a typical inner-European 500-NM route up to eleven percent lower costs per seat and four percent better trip costs, as compared to the A320 family. Boeing is advertising that, due to these advantages, the new 737 generation offers a significantly higher potential for profit than the competing aircraft from Toulouse. Furthermore, although larger than the Airbus A320, the new 737-800 can supposedly be operated cost-covering with 84 of 162 possible revenue passengers while the A320 breaks even at 88 of 152 possible paying passengers. In relation to the payload factor, this means that the 737 flies profitable at a use at 52 percent of its capacity, while the A320 would operate profitable only above 58 percent usage. According to Boeing, this means that the 737 can be operated with less risks than the products of the European consortium in times of low demand. Used to full capacity, the first 109 seats cover the costs while the remaining 53 seats generate profits, the US manufacturer assures. An A320 on the other hand, might need only 108 paid seats to break-even, but gives its operator a maximum of only 42 profit passengers. The Seattle based manufacturer is convinced: The development goal of giving the airlines a higher profit when operating the new 737 generation has been accomplished, offering the most balanced concept for the short and medium-range market in the aspects of performance and profitability. Beginning in October 1997, the new 737 will be given the chance to prove its efficiency with launch customer Southwest Airlines. From page 26 of FLUG REVUE 12/96 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 12/96 Copyright 1996 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated November 19, 1996