Boeing, strongly affected by the 737 MAX crisis and the effects of the pandemic on air traffic, has started to assess the possible interest of companies for a new aircraft,
the Wall Street Journal
said
on
Wednesday
.
Read also: Airbus-Boeing dispute: Europe wants to negotiate
The aircraft manufacturer, competitor of Airbus, has raised with customers and suppliers the possibility of launching a program for a single-aisle aircraft that can carry between 200 and 250 passengers and equipped with improved engines, details the economic daily, citing sources close to the case.
This would place the aircraft between the larger versions of the 737 MAX and its long-range 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The company did not immediately respond to AFP's requests.
Discussions are still at an early stage and may lead to nothing,
the Wall Street Journal said
, noting that the development of any new program takes several years.
The 737 MAX still grounded
Boeing is still waiting for the green light from the authorities to fly its flagship aircraft, the 737 MAX, grounded since March 2019 after two accidents that killed 346 people.
There are still several steps to be taken before the US aviation agency cancels the grounding order of the 737 MAX and the organization refuses to move forward on a specific schedule.
The head of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Patrick Ky, for his part stressed last week that the organization could officially give the green light to the return to service of the 737 MAX before the end of the year.
The manufacturer is also facing customers jostled by the fall in sales of airline tickets since the start of the pandemic.
Medium-haul flights are recovering a little faster than long-haul flights, however.
