Narrowbody aircrafts will usher in a new era of aviation The commercial aircraft market offers fairly steady and attractive growth. About 2-3% of the fleet gets replaced every year and on top of that, the fleet is likely to keep expanding, as air traffic is expected to grow at about 1.5x-1.7x the rate of Global GDP. Within the commercial market, narrowbody aircraft, which traditionally have just one aisle, have been gaining share as fuel efficiency has improved range and because these planes can offer lower operating costs per seat mile. But there's one narrowbody aircraft, the A321, that's done exceedingly well and Ron Epstein believes there's an opportunity for a competitor to offer an aircraft with improvements over the A321. However, this plane could look quite a bit different than what you're used to seeing pulling up to the gate. It also might dispatch with the dreaded middle seat. The risk, of course, is that it'll be expensive to develop, subject to delays and overruns and Ron will offer thoughts there too.   You may also enjoy listening to the Merrill Perspectives podcast, featuring conversations on the big stories, news and trends affecting your everyday financial life.   "Bank of America" and “BofA Securities” are the marketing names for the global banking businesses and global markets businesses (which includes BofA Global Research) of Bank of America Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Securities, trading, research, strategic advisory, and other investment banking and markets activities are performed globally by affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including, in the United States, BofA Securities, Inc. a registered broker-dealer and Member of FINRA and SIPC, and, in other jurisdictions, by locally registered entities. ©2023 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved