Boeing Stock In Focus On Plans For 737 Max Successor To Beat Airbus

Boeing (BA) is reportedly planning to build a single-aisle plane to succeed the 737 Max family, its best-selling jets, in an effort to regain market share from rival Airbus.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce and discussed a new engine for the aircraft. The planemaker has also been designing the flight deck of the new narrow-body aircraft. The report stated that the plane is in early-stage development and plans are still taking shape.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Boeing was in the 'extremely bullish' territory at the time of writing.

The 737 Max entered service in 2017 and has been embroiled in controversy following two fatal crashes in 2019 and 2020, which heightened regulatory scrutiny of the aerospace giant. While its former chief, Dave Calhoun, considered a development program for a new mid-sized aircraft, the plans were put on the back burner after a door plug blew out of a 737 Max variant mid-air.

The production delays and other troubles, including strikes, have helped Airbus wrestle the lead in aircraft deliveries.

According to The Journal, Ortberg traveled to Rolls-Royce's factory in Derby, England, to meet its CEO, Tufan Erginbilgic, to listen to a pitch about a new aircraft engine.“We actually hosted Boeing leadership in Derby to talk about narrow-body this year,” Erginbilgic said, the newspaper reported, citing the transcription of an investor event.“That should give you a sense [of] where the conversations are.”

The report added that Rolls-Royce, which started testing the prototype of its newest engine in 2023, doesn't yet have a customer for the technology. The new engine could lead to a 10% improvement in fuel efficiency compared with engines on Airbus's A320neo and up to 20% when combined with other upgrades to a new airframe, the Rolls-Royce chief reportedly said at the investor presentation.

According to a McKinsey report, a latest-generation aircraft is approximately 15% to 20% more fuel-efficient than its predecessor. In a separate media event, Erginbilgic reportedly mentioned that Rolls-Royce would require a partner to assist in manufacturing the engines and could begin deliveries as early as 2035, potentially sooner than Airbus plans to roll out its new narrow-body plane.

The report further stated that, in April, Boeing shifted the focus of a project with NASA, aimed at developing a radical new and greener aircraft, known as X-66. Instead, the company has redirected efforts at creating a lighter and more aerodynamic wing for a new plane.

Subsequently, in May, Boeing promoted Brian Yutko, the top boss of its flying-taxi subsidiary Wisk Aero, to a role leading product development within the company's commercial division. The role would include supervising the program to develop any successor to the 737 program.

Boeing stock has gained 21.7% this year. The company has a backlog of over 6,000 aircraft, with aircraft deliveries expected to stretch well into the next decade.

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