How does the Boeing 737 Max compare to the Airbus A320neo?

At the end of 2015, one manufacturer clearly dominates the lucrative single-aisle segment – and it is not based in Renton. Airbus commands the market for the next generation of re-engined narrowbodies, with 60% of the market – a lead that is probably insurmountable.

More than 7,300 firm orders for A320neo and 737 Max aircraft combined have been signed to date.

Airbus had a roughly nine-month lead before the launch of the 737 Max in August 2011. But the huge number of orders already in hand make it clear that the A320neo’s lead over the 737 Max is neither a statistical fluke nor the result of a nine-month headstart for Airbus on the airline marketing circuit.

The 737 MAX has just been rolled out on 9 December (See picture of “Spirit of Renton” at Boeing’s Renton factory).

Boeing continues to study the potential for increasing 737 output beyond its plan for 52 per month from 2018, but it stresses that there are currently no plans to go above that limit.

Thanks to extensive reconfiguration of its Renton, Washington production facility – including the new “central line” on which the initial 737 Max flight-test aircraft was built – the airframer now has one-third more capacity at the site. This gives Boeing more flexibility to respond to Airbus’s decision to increase A320 output to 60 aircraft per month before 2020.

Whereas Airbus spreads final assembly across four production lines in Europe, China
and the USA, Boeing concentrates 737 final assembly under one roof at the 4-81 and 4-82 hangar bays.

Airbus’ A320neo (new engine option) test and certification campaign is in full gear following the milestone first flights performed with each of the highly-efficient aircraft’s two engine options: Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM and the CFM International LEAP-1A.

The no. 1 A320neo outfitted with PurePower PW1100G-JM engines commenced the flight test programme with a September 2014 maiden flight. Marking another key achievement, the A320neo took to the skies for the first time with LEAP-1A powerplants in May 2015.

And that is the magic with the A320neo: it has TWO engine options! One of those engines is revolutionary (in that class of engines) - Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM Geared Fan - and may turn out to be a game changer. The other is the CFM International LEAP-1A.

In fact, Qatar was to be the first launch customer for the PurePower-powered neo, but certain limitations on the engine caused Qatar to refuse to accept the aircraft until those issues are fixed. (The PW engines as of now require 3 minutes of idling after start before applying higher power for taxi). Speaking in New York the previous day, Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker had stated that any delivery delay would be due to PW1100G engine supplier Pratt & Whitney.

So Lufthansa is going to be the launch customer, while PW fixes the idling problem. The airline on 10 December confirmed that it has agreed to be “launching customer”, and was preparing for a delivery before year-end.

Referring to its customers, Airbus says: “It is their privilege to announce delivery dates.”

The 737MAX is also a “neo”; here, however, it means “no engine options”! The low positioning of the wing puts restrictions on the size of the engine fan.

In reality, the 737MAX is really, really old technology. It is not fly-by-wire like the original A320 or the A320neo; most of its systems are derived from the 1960s era Boeing 737 Classic. Each successive model has featured more efficient engines and other updates, but has otherwise borne an unmistakable likeness to the 737-100 that
first emerged from Boeing’s factory on Lake Washington 49 years ago.

But all this does not matter to an operator; what matters is cost of purchase, operating cost, guaranteed maintenance costs, and financial compensation from the aircraft or engine manufacturer if the operating cost / fuel consumption guarantees are not met.

There are deals and deals, and wheels within wheels, which finally decide what make of airplane a customer airline purchases.

Basic market forces are likely to erode Airbus’s 20-point advantage eventually, but it is difficult to imagine a scenario that would cause a shift toward Boeing’s stated goal of a 50/50 balance.

But clearly the A320 has been a more technologically advanced aircraft for a long time now.