Boeing is working to develop a new aircraft type to replace the 737 Max, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, the newspaper said Monday that Boeing is designing a flight deck for a new narrowbody jet. Plans are still taking shape, the outlet noted, and the manufacturer has not given the project a formal name.
The Journal also said that Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg met with officials at Rolls-Royce Holdings in the U.K. earlier this year to discuss a new engine for the planned aircraft.
The 737 Max uses the CFM International LEAP-1B, developed jointly by GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
If Boeing does ultimately pivot from the 737 Max, it will represent a major shift in strategy for the world’s largest commercial airplane maker. The company poured billions into developing the aircraft, presented as a more advanced and fuel-efficient evolution of the best-selling 737 platform, and has sold almost 7,000 of the type worldwide.
But the 737 Max has faced serious concerns about safety and design quality. The aircraft was temporarily grounded after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019, which killed a combined 346 people.
Boeing seems likely to avoid criminal prosecution in connection with those accidents, which were ultimately linked to the 737 Max’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) system. As part of a non-prosecution deal worked out by the U.S. Department of Justice, the company would have to admit to engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct a lawful FAA investigation into MCAS and pay a total of $1.1 billion.
The 737 Max generated additional media attention and scrutiny last year after a midair door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines. No one was killed in that incident and the aircraft landed safely, but Boeing is now facing lawsuits from passengers who claim they experienced extreme emotional distress and are now dealing with mental health problems.
The FAA also stepped up inspections of the 737 Max’s production process at company plants.
Additionally, Boeing has struggled to achieve certification for two 737 Max variants, the Max 7 and Max 10. Both were expected to enter commercial service years ago, but problems with the aircrafts’ engine deicing systems have held up the process.
