Major competitors have found the same thing, including Airbus. It recently launched a new jetliner, the A320neo, aimed at making it easier for airlines to fly it, and keep flying it. The A321neo has a more efficient engine, so it burns less fuel per mile. But when it comes to range, the A320neo is even longer. The new A321neo comes with new-generation wings and engines. (Boeing) The A321 and the A321neo both seat between 210 and 220 people. But the A321 has a range of just 2,450 miles while the A321neo can fly 3,000 miles without refueling. “For carriers, that’s a big difference,” Boeing says. “To get from Hong Kong to Chicago, (the A320neo) has about half the fuel burn of the older version, so it can stay in the air for four hours longer.” The difference is about 6,000 nautical miles, or eight hours flying time. Boeing expects the first passengers to fly on the A321neo in October. “There’s been a lot of interest, but it’s too early to say how it’s going to play out,” says Kevin McAllister, an airline consultant at OAG Aviation. “We’re used to airlines retiring airplanes that have 20 years of service life, not ones that are 20 years younger.” Airlines are trying to stretch the life of their fleets longer in general. According to figures compiled by Flightglobal’s Ascend Online Aviation Network, airlines have taken delivery of 21,566 airplanes from Boeing and Airbus in the last decade. That’s an average of 748 new airplanes every year, versus 372 in the 1990s. Boeing has been focusing on reducing airframe maintenance costs for as long as I can remember. (Boeing) Yet, the life span of a single airframe can be up to 20 years. “It is not uncommon for airlines to hold onto airplanes, with very few exceptions, for 10 years,” says Tim Clark, an aviation analyst at IHS. Boeing has been working to reduce airframe maintenance costs and even the time it takes to do maintenance checks on an airplane. Last month, for example, it rolled out a program called Aero Data Services that lets airline maintenance crews run checks on the airplane’s systems and displays results on the iPad tablet mounted on the panel. The A320neo will arrive with new wings, and new engines. (Boeing) But the A321neo is more complicated than that. Instead of just putting on an engine, the aircraft is made of hundreds of components. To keep costs down, Boeing will build a wide body just one section at a time. Airbus has also been busy working on its range for the A320neo, which uses the same engine. The Airbus A320neo was due to be delivered to customers in the middle of the year, but it was delayed. Last month, Airbus rolled out an upgrade that extends the range by about 300 miles. “They’re not quite at the same (range),” says OAG’s McAllister. “Airbus is moving ahead with a system of systems approach that we’re seeing in Airbus. They’re working on their range at the same time they are finalizing their software for the aircraft.” (Boeing) What about the A321LR? That aircraft uses different engines, and so will have different range characteristics. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. All told, the A321neo and the A321LR are part of a much larger trend in airliner development. The industry is in an early stage of a transition from jet engines to electric propulsion. As battery prices fall and fuel prices rise, new jets will look at flying longer distances without having to burn kerosene. “Batteries are also improving, and lithium-ion batteries have a range that can replace jet fuel, so batteries could be a very effective way to improve the energy density of airplanes, and the airplanes would be able to fly farther,” McAllister says. The future is coming fast. “There is an evolution happening, and airframes are definitely going to last longer,” Clark says. “It is not just about reducing costs, it is about reducing the frequency of service and increasing utilization of an airplane.” Boeing has been focused on this for a long time. “That is something that has been in our forecast for years,” McAllister says. “If you look at the numbers, in 2015, we were looking at having 70% of airplanes being retired at the end of the life cycle. In 2018, they’re looking like they’ll be around 15%.” Airplanes are also getting more expensive to operate, so airlines will spend more money making them safer and more reliable. That extends their lifespan. (Boeing) Another thing coming up is more demand for fuel-efficient airliners. The International Energy Agency expects global passenger traffic to grow by nearly 5% a year between 2012 and 2017, while fuel demand grows only 1%. The A321neo could be the template for future fuel-efficient airplanes. It will be closely followed by the Embraer’s new E195, which is due to arrive in 2017. Like the A321neo, it’s due in 2019. Those are only some of the changes that lie ahead. “These next few years are really, really interesting,” Clark says. Boeing has a lot riding on it. Update: Some new changes. Airbus has announced it will delay its A321neo delivery until early next year. That’s pushed Boeing’s backlog up to five years, from 3.5 years. Airbus, meanwhile, has now announced its decision to increase A320neo deliveries from 2018 to 2022, with more than 5,600 aircraft to be delivered. Its decision could put pressure on Boeing, which is in the midst of a 5-year plan that includes the possibility of bringing the A321neo to market in 2018.