Originally Posted by
Appletom
And - who's to say Boeing won't just take the 787 composite technology and make 737's out of composite materials? The same size, the same shape, but with less weight with more efficient engines.
Different fuselage materials + different engines is an all new aircraft, doesn't matter if it looks the same as the current 737, it's a different aircraft. Regardless, if Boeing built a narrow body with the same cross-section as the current 737 they would have a very difficult time marketing it against the CSeries with it's much wider seats and I doubt Airbus will be making their next narrow-body narrower than the current generation.