Boeing could revamp 777 ahead of 737 replacement

Boeing admits that as Airbus firms up the A350-1000 specification it could be forced into examining how to position its long-range 777 to compete against that aircraft before it considers a 737 narrowbody replacement.

Chief executive Jim McNerney says that if the 350-seat A350-1000 reaches what Airbus has characterised "in terms of its performance", the aircraft "would put some pressure on our longer-range 777 fleet and we would have to answer the question of what we would do about that".

peaking during Boeing's first-quarter earnings briefing on 23 April, McNerney said that the driver on a 777 decision would be the "real performance" of the A350-1000 that is not likely to be introduced until around 2016, so he believes there is plenty of time to decide on the upgrade required if the Airbus rival's performance "does threaten" the 777.

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