User:Marc Lacoste/sandbox/Middle of the market

The middle of the market, often abbreviated MoM, is a terminology used by Boeing Commercial Airplanes since at least 2003 to designate the airliner market between the narrowbody and the widebody aircraft. It is a market segment of the competition between Airbus and Boeing.

In the Boeing lineup, it is situated between the largest Boeing 737 MAX-9 of 194,700 lb of maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) for 178 passengers in two class over a 3515 nmi range, and the smallest Boeing 787-8 of 502,500 lb for 242 passengers over a 7355 nmi range. It was previously covered by Boeing with the largest modern narrowbody, the Boeing 757, typically the -200 for 200 passengers over 3,915 nmi with a 255,000 lb MTOW, and the smallest widebody, the seven-abreast Boeing 767, typically the -300ER for 269 passengers over 5,725 nmi with a 412,000 lb MTOW.

In the Airbus lineup, it is between the A321neoLR of 97 t of MTOW for 206 passengers in two class over a 4000 nmi range, and the A330neo-800 of 242 t for 257 passengers in three class over a 7500 nmi range.

757 Replacement
Boeing officials stated in 2011 that the manufacturer had no plans to develop a dedicated 200-seat airliner to replace its largest narrow-body aircraft. Instead, a new airliner family, code-named Y1, was being considered for the 145- to 180-seat markets covered by the 737-700 and 737-800. Stretched Y1 models or a medium-range version of the 787 Dreamliner were possible replacements for the 757. In 2012, after shelving the Y1 project in favor of the redesigned and re-engined 737 MAX family, Boeing indicated that the larger 737 MAX models (particularly the largest and longest range variant, 737 MAX 9) would cover the bulk of the 757 replacement market. Company officials further emphasized that up to 95 percent of the 757's current routes could be flown by the 737 MAX.

In 2014, Airbus launched the Airbus A321neoLR, a model with three auxiliary fuel tanks and seating for 206 passengers. The European manufacturer states that the new variant will exceed the range of a 757-200 with winglets and be more fuel-efficient. In response, the options open to Boeing include developing and building a new aircraft, whose cost could reach US$15 billion, or revising and enhancing the 767, as well as reengining and improving the wings of the existing 757. Officials at Air Lease Corporation, which has ordered the Airbus A321neoLR, have urged Boeing to build an all-new twin-aisle airplane for 7000 ft runways. However, Boeing officials have declined to respond directly to Airbus' decision to launch the A321neoLR, and have dismissed its rival's projections of demand for 1,000 aircraft; instead, the company now considers the space between the 737 MAX 9 and the 787-8 to be a niche, and foresees a more modest, incremental market. Boeing officials have also dismissed suggestions to reengine the 757. Whether the 757 replacement market is commercially viable has been debated by aviation industry analysts, with some skeptics pointing to the fact that over 150 aircraft, or approximately 15 percent of the worldwide 757 fleet, are currently unused and parked in desert storage.

In early 2015, Boeing disclosed that it was conducting studies for a long-haul 757 successor aimed at transatlantic routes too long for the A321neoLR and 737 MAX 9. Such an aircraft would carry more passengers than the 737 MAX and have more range than the 757. A parallel development along with the 737 replacement, similar to when the 757 and 767 were developed in the 1970s, is under consideration. , Boeing has not committed to a replacement (which would be available after the 777X), but is polling customers such as United Airlines on how to fill the gap between the 737 MAX 9 and the 787. Boeing calls the successor airliner "MOM" for Middle of Market. The airplane could likely seat 220 passengers and be sized between the 737 and 787-8 Dreamliner.

Some analysts pointed a substantial market opportunity to replace both the 757 and the Boeing 767 on routes without passengers to adequately fill the Boeing 787, as well as serve airports with short runways, or at high altitudes, something the 757 does well. Boeing's responses about replacing the 757 has suggested that the market is very small, but some airline operators have indicated their disagreement, and some have placed orders for the A321. Boeing was studying the possibility of a 757 replacement in September 2016, Airbus aimed the Airbus A321LR at this market, intended to serve routes where a widebody aircraft could not turn a profit.

Boeing nicknamed "Middle of Market" (MOM) the market segment between its current single- and twin-aisle offerings, succeeding the 757. They denied working on a modification of the 737 MAX 9, on a re-engined 757, or on the Boeing 767.