The chief executive of United Technologies has suggested his company's participation in Boeing's proposed New Mid-Market Airplane (NMA) is not a sure thing, citing the Seattle airframer's continued supply-chain squeeze.
"We would obviously like to have a position on that aircraft, but it has to make sense," UTC chief executive Gregory Hayes says on 22 October. "The investments have to have a payoff based on what we think the market… size is."
"They have some pretty tough cost targets out there, but they are optimistic about the market size," he adds of Boeing.
Boeing has for several years been seeking to cut supply chain expenses through its "partnership for success" programme, which the company launched in 2011.
Cost cutting efforts have led Boeing to bring some work in house, such as nacelle and propulsion system work. It has also handed work to new, smaller suppliers like Héroux-Devtek, which beat out incumbent UTC Aerospace Systems to supply 777X landing gears.
Boeing's has pitched the NMA as a 220-270-seat aircraft with a range of up to 5,000nm (9,260km). The company will make a decision in 2019 about whether to launch the aircraft, executives have said.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
