On the Call: Boeing CEO Jim McNerney

By The Associated Press

Boeing Co. has orders for 228 of its workhorse 737 this year alone. The plane first flew in 1967, and although it's been revamped over the years, Boeing is deciding this year whether to put a new engine on it, which would be a major project, or start over and build an all-new plane.

On Wednesday, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Troy J. Lahr asked what Boeing heard on that subject from customers at the Farnborough International Airshow last week.

Boeing Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said the first thing the company has to look at is when will new technology, and customer willingness to pay for it, justify a new plane?

"If that is sometime this decade, then the case for re-engining weakens dramatically. If you did re-engine, you'd be doing two major developments in the course of four or five years, which makes no sense. If on the other hand the new plane comes together much, much later, let's say deep into the next decade, then the case for re-engining strengthens," he said. "The customer feedback ... is sort of pushing us toward a newer airplane, on balance."