Boeing 737 update: upgrade announcement due soon?

Looks like Boeing is getting closer to an anouncement on its 737 range (www.bloomberg.com: Boeing Board Weighs 737 Upgrade Next Week), which looks like being an upgrade with a more fuel efficient engine in order to achieve an entry into service that will ensure it has a product to compete with the upgraded Airbus A320NEO.
The NEO is due to enter service in 2015 and with the speculation that an all new 737 wouldn't be ready until the end of the decade, the view is that an upgraded 737 would be ready for 2015.
Realistically this would initially take-up some existing 737 orders as customers opt to switch their orders to the newer specification.

Again, it raises a significant question for Rolls-Royce following its failure to put together a competitive proposal for the NEO. 
The company has always had it in mind to compete on a new 737 having failed to recognise the potential (first time around) of an aircraft that has gone on to be the world's biggest selling aircraft.
Its statement on the NEO again seemed to be along the lines of not being able to justify a business case (not seeing longevity I guess), preferring instead to wait for an all new 737. 
But, with Boeing potentially going for the re-engine this could freeze Rolls out again for another decade or more with some suggestions being 2020 (www.bloomberg.com: GE, Rolls-Royce Race to Try Biggest Engine Redesign in 20 Years). Particularly given the realistic expectation of fewer or no new orders for the V2500 option on the existing A320 as the NEO takes up.


So what can Rolls-Royce offer, well, in recent years the company has progressed a design (RB282/RB285) with a 3 shaft core but, at the time, this made little headway with Airbus for the NEO.
But, with the A320 - V2500 market (new orders) now appearing to be finite, I hope the RB282/RB285 can be progressed to a more competitive and compelling package this time around for a sector that provides the workhorses of the sky and all the profitable support services that go with it.



Related articles:
- www.bloomberg.com: Boeing Board Weighs 737 Upgrade Next Week
- www.ft.com: Boeing-Airbus dogfight flares up again / Rolls-Royce has plenty riding on 737
- www.bloomberg.com: GE, Rolls-Royce Race to Try Biggest Engine Redesign in 20 Years
- www.ubmaviationnews.com: We’re glad Pratt is back in the game, says Boeing’s Mike Bair 

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