Boeing denies report of 737 replacement due in nine years

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A respected trade publication says Boeing has targeted 2013 for launch of a new commercial jet that would replace the narrowbody 737 and likely end production at the company's Renton plant.

Aviation-industry magazine Flight International reports in its latest issue that a Boeing preliminary study to replace the 737 — dubbed the Y-1 program — is gaining momentum and that the new candidate airplane could enter service nine years from now.

If so, that would be the likely schedule for the end of aircraft production in Renton, where the 737 is assembled.

A 737 replacement jet would likely be close in design, structure and production to the all-composite 7E7 and would be assembled in Everett.

While Boeing concedes long-term studies exist, it denies any firm plan to replace the 737.

"We're always studying a variety of product strategies," said Boeing spokeswoman Sandy Angers, "There aren't any plans. We're always doing studies."

Boeing has in the past studied the eventual replacement of its entire jet family with a new product line that would have common cockpits, systems and manufacturing processes. Some insiders see the 7E7 as the first of what would eventually be three different size categories, with a 737 replacement next up.

But Angers said the market is too dynamic to predict when the time will be right to end production of what is currentlyBoeing's best-selling jet.

Boeing will deliver its 1,500th next-generation 737 next week, a milestone achieved in a record time of just six years since the revamped 737 was launched.

The schedule for launching a 737 replacement mentioned in the trade magazine does resonate with what is known of Boeing's plans in Renton.

City leaders have long been aware that once the 737 line closes, the great gray box on the south end of Lake Washington will be surplused, and Boeing will be gone.

A 2003 internal strategic-planning document obtained by The Seattle Times revealed Boeing's intention to sell its commercial operations in Wichita, Kan., and showed that the planned "future state" of Boeing's Renton facility is to sell it all — though the document mentions no time frame.

The city, in conjunction with Boeing, already has developed a detailed plan to replace the 280-acre Boeing plant with a lakeside project of mixed office, retail and residential space.

In November, the City Council approved sweeping zoning changes, clearing the way for Boeing to eventually redevelop the property.

In the meantime, Boeing has been rapidly shrinking the site toward the lake and has invested in relocating office space beside its 737 production line.

Yesterday, Boeing announced it will begin marketing an additional 46 acres of vacated land at the site, a parcel named Lakeshore Landing.

A Boeing directive obtained by The Times and dated January 2004 also authorizes vacating adjoining land on Renton Field by the end of this year.

When might Boeing leave the site entirely?

Announcing the closure of the 757 line in October, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Alan Mulally said Boeing would be in Renton "as long as the world wants 737s."

Last year, Carolyn Corvi, the head of the Renton factory, offered assurances that Boeing would stay in the city for "seven to 10 years," but insisted that she could not predict beyond that.

Adam Pilarski, an industry analyst with Avitas, said airplane manufacturers are always conducting advance engineering studies of possible future products and that the obvious next step after the 7E7 would be a 737 replacement.

Pilarski said it is not in Boeing's interest to announce early a firm intention to introduce a new jet. Such an announcement could hit the stock as investors fear the expense of development costs and an adverse impact on sales of the current jet.

"As long as you are selling the 737 Next Generation, there is no reason for you to go there," said Pilarski.

"Will it eventually happen? Obviously."

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com

Boeing buys Calif. maker

of unmanned helicopters

CHICAGO — Boeing acquired closely held Frontier Systems, giving the company its first military-reconnaissance helicopter that may compete against Northrop Grumman's new model. The value of the deal wasn't disclosed.

Frontier, based in Irvine, Calif., has 70 employees. It has been working on the A-160 Hummingbird helicopter under a contract with the U.S. military's research arm.

The Army may fund development and purchases of the aircraft, said Dina Hyde, Boeing's program manager of the aircraft.

Boeing is competing against Northrop Grumman for increasing spending on unmanned spy planes to provide troops with the latest battlefield information.

Such aircraft proved valuable in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Department of Defense said in February it would spend $1.97 billion on unmanned planes in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, up 47 percent from this year.

The Hummingbird can fly 30 hours to 40 hours, carry a 1,000-pound payload and has a range of 2,750 miles, Boeing said.

— Bloomberg News