Rolls-Royce has expressed interest in providing the engines for a new, midrange jetliner if Boeing decides to move forward with a concept later this decade.
In recent weeks, the US planemaker has reached out to the British engine manufacturer to gauge its interest in a potential new aircraft, according to sources. The midsize jet would be designed to fill a gap in Boeing’s product lineup and blunt the success of an Airbus sales dynamo, the A321neo.
The conversations centred on an early-stage concept with specifics that are in flux, sources said. Boeing isn’t yet massing resources or conducting wide-ranging studies with airlines and lessors, as is typical ahead of a new development programme, one source said.
Indeed, the project’s chances of moving forward depend on numerous variables, including the emergence of new engine technology to entice customers, the financial health of aerospace manufacturers and the recovery of a jetliner market that has been flattened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rolls-Royce and Boeing declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Boeing had reached out to suppliers and customers about a potential new single-aisle airplane that seats between 200 and 250 travellers.
Analyst responses to the prospect of Boeing weighing a new development programme amid the worst downturn in aviation history varied, with views ranging from supportive to incredulous.
It’s “absurd” to expect a new Boeing plane to emerge soon, given the risk of cannibalising sales from the company’s own 737 Max and the financial strain on airlines and manufacturers, said Douglas Harned, an analyst at Bernstein.
“There is not a next generation engine on the horizon and engine OEMs are so cash-constrained they would hardly prioritise developing one,” he said in a report on October 22, referring to Rolls-Royce and other turbofan manufacturers.
But Boeing is at risk of losing significant market share to Airbus because of the prolonged grounding of the Max, which has been banned from the skies since March 2019 after two fatal accidents killed 346 people. The model is expected to win regulatory approval to fly again in the coming months.
Boeing should seriously consider investing in a new family of single-aisle jets to remain competitive over the long term, said Ron Epstein, an analyst at Bank of America.
”Hard times demand hard decisions,” said Epstein. An all-new design would reach the market as travel rebounds from the pandemic, he added.
“If they want to stay relevant, they have to do a plane,” Mr Epstein said. “And managing the company just for returning cash to shareholders and cutting costs – that’s not going to get them there. That’s yesterday’s strategy.”
At the urging of Boeing’s new chief executive, Dave Calhoun, the Chicago-based company scrapped plans for the so-called NMA, or new midmarket aeroplane, earlier this year. That design, with an oval-shaped fuselage and a twin-aisle cabin, was targeted at flights of about 5,000 nautical miles.
Instead, Boeing’s sales team fanned out to discuss other proposals to replace its ageing 757 and 767 jetliners and compete with Airbus, the people said. The European plane maker’s A320 family includes an extra long-range version known as the A321XLR, which has emerged as a 757 successor with sales to the likes of United Airlines and American Airlines.
The Boeing concepts included a large single-aisle jet, with a carbon-composite frame, capable of hauling more than 200 travellers across the Atlantic Ocean. Its turbines would produce 50,000 pounds of thrust, the same requirement as the NMA’s engines.
But as the pandemic has left Boeing and its largest customers struggling to survive, the talks were tabled and the aerospace titan disbanded the team of more than 1,000 engineers who had been working on futuristic models, including the NMA, sources said.
Since then, a small team has been tending to the design concepts while Boeing focuses on cutting costs and bringing the Max back into commercial service.
Rolls-Royce has been especially hard hit by the pandemic because it only provides engines for wide-body planes. Many of those aircraft remain grounded because they are largely used in international travel, which has been slammed by virus fears and health restrictions. The embattled engine maker said in early October that it was exploring partnerships for its Ultrafan engine programme.
When Boeing was still actively developing the NMA, Rolls-Royce pulled out of consideration, saying its new engine wouldn’t be ready by the plane’s targeted debut in the mid-2020s. Rolls-Royce would only move forward with the latest Boeing concept if it made commercial sense, one source said.
With the pandemic having set back the timetable for investment in new aircraft programs, Rolls-Royce is now attempting to make the Ultrafan available toward the end of the decade. The engine is set to use a geared turbofan technology to generate fuel efficiency, and will be scaleable from 25,000 pounds of thrust up to 100,000 pounds.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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FORSPOKEN
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
Pathaan
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Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
