Boeing Brings Battle to Airbus with New Small Airliner

Boeing has unveiled an enlarged version of its best-selling 737 airliner at the Paris airshow as it intensifies its battle with Airbus in the market for narrow-body passenger jets. The stretched Max 10 will become the latest variant in Boeing’s 737 Max family, which also includes the smaller Max 7, Max 8 and Max 9 types.

Boeing’s Max 10 can seat up to 230 passengers. The Airbus plane can fit 240 passengers. However, the race between Boeing and Airbus for orders at the Paris Air Show may be of less importance as both plane makers focus on how to get through their massive backlog of orders.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Air Show, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg explained the firm currently has more than 4,000 737 airplanes in backlog. Boeing’s CEO added the company hoped to ramp up aircraft production from 42 airplanes a month in 2017 to 57 a month by 2019.

The plane carries a price tag of $124.7 million each, though buyers get discounts. It should enter service in 2020.

After years of booming orders driven by increased air travel and more fuel-efficient planes, passenger jet manufacturers are bracing for a slowdown in demand while they focus on meeting tight delivery schedules and ambitious production targets.

The Max 10 will have the lowest cost per seat mile of any single aisle aircraft yet, according to Boeing, likely to make it a favourite with the budget airlines which are increasingly important force in the market.

Part of Boeing’s agenda for this year’s Paris Air Show is to show off its 737 Max 9 in the hopes of finding new airline customers for the jet, which has had disappointing sales numbers so far. The 737 Max 9 is expected to be delivered to airlines in 2018.

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