Boeing's Albaugh says he doubts viability of unducted engine

Boeing Co.'s commercial aircraft chief, Jim Albaugh, said today he's not certain that so-called unducted-engine technology will ever be viable.

“I have a hard time believing that's ever going to be viable, though I'm not going to dismiss it,” Albaugh said at a press briefing in Singapore.

General Electric Co., United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce Holding Plc are all separately studying an unducted fan, which has blades on the outside of a jet turbine. The design may take a dozen years to develop, they say.

Albaugh reiterated that Chicago-based Boeing is looking at offering either a re-engined version of its 737 narrowbody plane or an all-new model, and that a potential successor would be available in 2019 or 2020.