Originally Posted by
VH DSJ
Why else would Boeing be interested in buying Embraer's commercial division? The regional aircraft market has never been their niche.
Only if one has a limited historical outlook. The 720, 727 and 737 were all
originally targeted as "regional" aircraft in function. Ability to get into short runways at smaller airports, and work efficently (for the era) on short-range, lower-volume routes. The only competiton in smaller jets back then was mostly Fokker.
And of course Boeing kept the MD-95 when they bought McD, renamed as the 717. Which was basically a throwback to McD's own "regional" entry of the 1960s - the original unstretched DC-9. The B717 replaced QANTAS's BAe-146 regionals, and is the "regional" (intrastate) jet for Hawaiian. Delta uses theirs on "regional-like" routes, and was happy to snap up airTran's 717s after its merger with SWA.
However, that doesn't mean Boeing can't use fresh ideas in the "even-smaller" end of the market. The 736 hasn't been a great seller, nor was the B717 overall.