Southwest Airlines wants any next-generation narrowbody from Boeing to offer a high level of flightcrew training commonality with the 737, and ideally share "a common type rating" with the twinjet.
Dan Stolzer, senior director of engineering and maintenance programmes at Southwest, says that if it is not possible to achieve the same type rating as the 737, then "something that would have the lowest amount of additional training time required" would be the next most attractive option. It would cost "several hundred million dollars" for all-737 operator Southwest to train its pilots in multiple aircraft types, he adds.
While Southwest is "always looking at what everybody has on the drawing board regardless of manufacturer and regardless of size", it has kept coming back to the 737 "because it has served us so well", says Stolzer, noting that standardisation of Southwest's fleet has given the carrier "one of the biggest operational efficiencies".
He adds that Southwest would be looking for any new narrowbody to provide a 15-20% operational efficiency improvement over the 737-700.
New engine technology is largely driving the development timeframe for next-generation single-aisles, and Southwest has not favoured one powerplant configuration over another. Stolzer says that while open rotor architecture "promises the most fuel burn", there are other issues "that nobody has their arms wrapped around" yet, including whether the powerplant will pass regulatory standards for blade-out and whether it will be the most cost-efficient in terms of maintenance. Lifecycle costs must be determined, he says.
The design goals for new engines that call for higher fuel efficiency with super-low emissions and noise "run opposite of each other", he says, adding: "Everybody can't have everything."
Southwest continues to study the market, says Stolzer: "We're looking at every option that's on the table and trying to come up with a long-term plan."
Source: Flight International
