Military

Will Boeing 737 Be Used for Flights to Europe?

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: September 15, 2016 10:40 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:31 am

Airlines apparently want to use small planes to cross the Atlantic. One of the planes considered for the mission is Boeing Co.’s (NYSE: BA) 737 MAX. Rebuilt, it can fly almost 3,000 miles, according to Bloomberg. Open to speculation is whether this eventually could hurt sales of larger planes.

The Bloomberg story says that the scheme may include the Airbus A320neo.

The analysis by Bloomberg suggests that passengers may not love the decision:

While eight hours on a 130-foot plane with three toilets and one gangway might not immediately appeal to travelers used to the spacious cabins of an Airbus A380, airlines say the smaller jets will open up direct routes that wouldn’t otherwise be viable. That would do away with the need to switch between flights at a busy hub. At the same time people can look forward to competitive fares as carriers seek out smaller airports where access charges are lower.

If these are indeed used on less-traveled routes, the risk to the sale of larger planes is modest. These would usually be the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A330 and A340.

Looking at the opportunity to add planes and not replace them, Boeing and Airbus continue to have markets for their larger planes while adding new ones for models like the 737.