According to various United States reports Boeing is about to unveil the first of its Boeing 737 MAX line in a private ceremony in Seattle.
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Boeing promises that the 737 MAX will be 20 percent more fuel efficient than the so-called 737 Next Generation aircraft they replace, which is not a small figure.
The latest version of Boeing’s best-selling 737, introduced in the mid-1960s, is due to make its first flight early next year and reach customers in 2017. The MAX is already the fastest selling airplane in the company’s long history.
The 737 MAX 8 is the first member in Boeing’s new family of single-aisle aircraft-the 737 MAX 7, MAX 8, MAX 200 and MAX 9-to begin production.
Boeing marked the occasion on Tuesday by holding an employee celebration that was low-key by industry standards. Hamlin said the Max’s low-key displays were “the first major development of a model that I can recall being rolled out privately”.
The MAX boasts more aerodynamically efficient “dual feather” winglets, a redesigned nose and tail, and a new breed of LEAP-1B engine that should boost the 737’s fuel efficiency by 14 percent per seat and reduce operating costs by 8 percent. It is also tailoring the trials, which should last about a year, to mimic how airlines would use the jet.
Airlines are planning to use the 737 MAX on new routes. Boeing has a target of 750 to 755 deliveries in 2015.
Airbus AIR.PA orders topped 1,000 aircraft between January and November, sending its shares higher as it looked all but certain to win its annual race against US rival Boeing BA.N. Boeing, however, remained in comfortable shape to retain its title as the world’s largest jetliner producer as Europe’s Airbus continued to lag on deliveries.
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Airbus plans to boost narrow-body output to 60 jets a month by 2019.
