JAPAN'S PROPOSED YS-X aircraft will not be offered in competition with the new Boeing 737-600, and an initial agreement on co-operation with Boeing is still expected to be signed in the next few months, say Japanese aerospace officials.
The YS-X is the subject of a joint feasibility study between Japan Aircraft Development (JADC) and Boeing, as part of its New Small Airplane (NSA) project. JADC hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding with Boeing by June and to begin full-scale development in 1996.
Boeing's recent launch of the 108-seat shortened derivative of the 737-700/-800 has raised fears in Japan that the similarly sized YS-X may now be abandoned. JADC's three consortium members - Fuji, Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - have reached agreements with Boeing to produce empennage and wing components for the 737-600.
China and South Korea, which are conducting a separate study with Boeing on a new small aircraft, indicate that they are leaning towards European co-operation, following the Boeing decision to launch the 737-600.
A senior Japanese industry source, denies that the YS-X is threatened by the 737-600. While admitting that there is "some overlap" between the two aircraft, he argues that "...they are for the most part not in competition with each other, but targeted at different market segments".
He adds that the YS-X and 737-600 are expected to differ in some important respects, including seating, unit cost and entry-into-service date.
The YS-X cross-section is being designed to accommodate 90-110 passengers in a five-abreast configuration, compared to the slightly wider 737-600, which seats six abreast. The YS-X, however, may now be reduced to an 80- to 90-seat aircraft as a trade-off, say industry sources. It was originally conceived as a 75-seater, and then enlarged to fit the US airline market.
It is understood that the YS-X will be flown for shorter sectors and will have lower direct-operating costs than those of the 737-600, which is planned to have a maximum range of 5,920km (3,200nm). JADC officials claim that the YS-X will be cheaper.
Source: Flight International
