Boeing needs to re-work their lineup of planes to fill four niches:
*A high-capacity wide-body that can seat up to 400 and make trans-pacific flights
The upcoming 777x fills this role, though the stated range on the -9 (7285nm) cuts it a bit close on routes like Dallas-Hong Kong (7058nm) or Los Angeles-Sydney (6507nm), and can't fly directly from LAX to Singapore (7620nm)....an extended-range option would be nice at some point
*A smaller wide-body with roughly the same range, but less capacity....up to around 300 seats
The 787 sits here, though again even the longest-ranged variant (the -9 at 7635nm) leaves no room for error on the aforementioned LAX-Singapore route....ER options should be looked at for "skinny" routes as airlines start to shift away from hub-and-spoke
*An increased-range narrow-body, with models of, say, around 170-175 and 215-220 seats, for cross-continent and trans-atlantic operations
The 757 once occupied this slot, and it's a massive blunder on Boeing's part that they haven't yet launched their "NMA" to fill the niche....Airbus is trying to steal their lunch money in this segment with the A321XLR (range 4700nm), which can fly Atlanta-Frankfurt (4009nm) or even Dallas-Paris (4299nm) without having to stop in New York or London on the way
*A smaller, high-efficiency narrow-body with models of between 100 and 150 seats
Boeing hasn't really been here since the 717, which wasn't even their plane, acquired and re-badged in the McDonnell-Douglas merger
Airbus, ironically, ALSO got theirs through acquisition, buying Bombardier's C-Series jets and rebranding them as the A220....and they're selling like freaking hotcakes
The A220-100 (3450nm) and -300 (3600nm) technically have the range to fly from the east coast to London, but the real market here is to basically be a "jumbo regional jet"....3000nm would be more than enough for routes like Seattle-Miami (2367nm) or London-Tel Aviv (1940nm) or even Frankfurt-Dakar (2466nm) with room to spare
