Originally Posted by
davedeboston
I think that if the MoM hole does get filled in the next 5 years, it will be from a new variant of a current offering rather than a clean sheet model.
-Boeing could make changes to the cancelled 787-3 design and bring that to market.
-Airbus could potentially build an A322.
Agree that the A322 is possible, but it would be severely field limited performance without some major engine rework. The A322 people are currently talking about is a people-hauler: shorter (<3000 nmi range), essentially trading higher range for passenger capacity. To get both passenger capacity plus the range for MoM is a much bigger ask.
Boeing won't make a 787-3. To make it fuel efficient would require significant changes. Boeing is better off on making an artificially low MTOW-capped 789/788 at a discount to fit the use case.