International Lease Finance believes that the chance of an all-new narrowbody airliner being introduced by Airbus or Boeing in the near term remains a distant reality.
The mega-lessor's chief executive Henri Courpron says he is "sceptical of seeing an all-new design for a single-aisle aircraft in the near future" as he believes "both manufacturers currently have pretty full plates".
Courpron believes any new aircraft to hit the market "can't be at the expense of today's business".
There is great debate within the industry about the timing of an all-new single-aisle, particularly over the development of re-engined versions of current aircraft. Airbus is strongly in favour of the latter as the near-term solution, while Boeing continues to evaluate both options.
Several key suppliers are urging the focus to be on an all-new design, with Rolls-Royce expressing the view that developing an all-new design is much more sensible than re-engining the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. This chimes with Goodrich's view, which favours a new aircraft to avoid replicating research and development in a short period of time.
Source: Flight International
