alt Hacker NewsIf you want to sell commercial jets to anyone who isn’t Chinese, 20Y old engines aren’t good enough because modern engines are slightly more fuel efficient.
The difference isn’t huge (I think it’s 10-20% or something), but when fuel is your main cost that’s enough to make older engines undesirable
Replies
stephen_g • today at 7:16 AM
> The difference isn’t huge (I think it’s 10-20% or something)
A 10-20% reduction in fuel burn is actually considered pretty huge...
FooBarWidget • today at 5:45 AM
What from I understand the issue is mainly service frequency rather than fuel efficiency.
Also, the domestic commercial jet market is still sizable, so excluding the domestic market from analyses is kinda weird.
Finally, lots of countries are spooked by arbitrary US sanctions and want to diversify.
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The GEnx which powers the 787 is a 20 year-old engine design. There are thousands of jets flying around with 40+ year-old engine designs, especially in operations like charter and cargo where the aircraft spends more time on the ground than in the air. At the right price a 20 year-old design would be quite viable. Which indicates China is much more than a decade behind.