Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Andrew Doyle/MUNICH
Boeing is proposing winglet-equipped 737-800s to Deutsche BA in a bid to win the Germany-based airline's fleet evaluation competition, due to be decided by the end of this month. The company refuses to specify either the content or identity of current campaigns, but admits: "We are definitely talking to customers and trying to figure out a way to offer winglets."
The proposal is thought to cover the airline's requirement for up to 24 firmly ordered aircraft. It would represent the first potential commercial use of the blended winglet on a Boeing airliner since it signed an agreement with Aviation Partners, the winglet design specialist, earlier this year.
The agreement built on links established for the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), which has the slender composite structure as a standard feature. In flight trials on the prototype 737-800, the winglet showed drag savings equal to a 5-7% rise in range, or an equivalent reduction in fuel consumption. The BBJ, which combines the -700 fuselage with the -800 wing, improved range by over 550km (300nm).
Although Boeing declines to reveal details of its ongoing winglet application studies, the 737-800 is a logical initial candidate as the necessary structural tests and certification work have largely been achieved, thanks to the BBJ work. Further Next Generation applications on the -600, -700, -900 and proposed -700ERX are being studied, although each would need structural study work on the wing for forward fit and retrofit.
Boeing is also examining the use of the blended winglet for retrofit on 737 Classics as well as various 747 models. These include the -200, particularly the -200F freighter, and the -400, which would swap its factory fitted devices for the newer design. Another impetus for offering the winglet on the -800 is the continuing development of the BBJ2, which is based entirely on the -800.
Deutsche BA operates 18 737-300s, some of which are among the last Classics to be delivered. It wants 24 new aircraft in the 110- to 170- seat range to replace the 737s, and provide for growth, and is evaluating offers from Airbus and Boeing.
Boeing is pushing its 737-600/700/800, but faces competition from the Airbus A320 family, with the A318/A319/A320 offered. The position is further complicated by the fact that British Airways is making 24 of its Airbus options available to its German division.
Source: Flight International
