By Warren Wise
The Post and Courier
Friday, June 4, 2010
Boeing Co. is slightly ahead of schedule on construction of its $750 million assembly plant in North Charleston, where it is building a second production line of its hot-selling 787 jet.
The 1.2 million-square-foot factory is expected to open on time, in July 2011, said Marco Cavazzoni, Boeing's vice president and general manager of final assembly and delivery at the company's North Charleston site.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Cavazzoni said a realignment of South Aviation Avenue near the plant site is set to begin in September. The so-called topping out of the steel frame should be completed by October, and the shell of the new building likely will be finished in February, he said.
The first delivery of a completed 787 Dreamliner is set for the first quarter of 2012.
"The first delivery will be a really, really, really big party," Cavazzoni said. "We will shape the perception of South Carolina as an aerospace center."
The new assembly plant will open with 1,000 workers and eventually employ at least 3,800.
Boeing has received 866 orders for the 787 Dreamliner, Cavazzoni said.
The new passenger jet also is being assembled in Everett, Wash. Boeing chose North Charleston last year as the site to duplicate its West Coast 787 operations.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
First on Dreamliners
By Julie Johnsson, Chicago Tribune
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
CHICAGO -- United Airlines may have been the last major U.S. carrier to order new airplanes, but its passengers would be among the first to experience Boeing's 787 Dreamliner if the United-Continental merger goes according to plan.
The new carrier, which would retain United's name and be run by Continental CEO Jeff Smisek, would be the launch customer in the Americas for the much-delayed but potentially game-changing 787, sources said.
If the deal is derailed, that honor would go to Continental Airlines, which said last week that it will take delivery of its first 787 in August 2011. That's about five years before United is due to receive the first of 25 Dreamliners it ordered late last year.
Billed as ground-breaking, the Dreamliner is designed to burn 20 percent less fuel than similar midsize jets and produce 20 percent fewer emissions. Its composite frame, more flexible than conventional aluminum fuselages, allows more humidity in its passenger cabins, lessening the effects of jet lag. Major fuselage components for the 787 are made in North Charleston.
Continental is scheduled to receive six of the 25 new jets it has on order next year, giving it a jump on other North American carriers with global ambitions. Continental plans to launch its first 787 service on Nov. 16, 2011, flying to Auckland, New Zealand, from Houston, the largest hub of the new carrier and the focus of its early expansion plans.
It's too early to know whether the 787s would arrive from Boeing bearing the Continental or United brand, said Continental spokesman Dave Messing.
Merging airlines typically don't begin to combine brands and repaint fleets until well after their deal closes, said aviation consultant Robert Mann. United and Continental executives expect to wrap up their deal by late 2010, provided their merger isn't subjected to lengthy scrutiny by antitrust regulators.
But it remains unknown whether the 787, more than two years late, will meet its latest deadline and perform as Boeing has promised, and the uncertainty has prompted some carriers to cancel orders or to take later deliveries after problems are ironed out.
Continental vaulted ahead of Delta Air Lines on Boeing's 787 delivery schedule after Delta gave up the early production slots that it inherited by buying Northwest Airlines, the original U.S. launch customer, sources said.
But the first planes off a manufacturer's assembly line frequently fall short of expectations, arriving heavier than anticipated. That lessens a jet's range or lowers fuel savings, analysts said.
Rumors about the 787's performance has swirled as Boeing has reinforced the jet's composite frame with metal in places, potentially increasing its weight.
"The view is it's been compromised, although nobody knows by how much," Mann said.
Boeing has conceded it had weight issues with the first few 787s, but said it is resolving those problems with significant design improvements that start with the 25th Dreamliner.
The Auckland flight, the longest in Continental's schedule, would put the new jet to an immediate test. The 7,400-mile journey appears tailor-made for Continental's 787, which will seat 228 people. That route is unlikely to draw enough passengers to consistently fill a jumbo jet, but is too long for other midsize planes.
Continental's jets will include the upgrades, said Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter, and should have the 787-8's maximum range of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles. The new Auckland route "is easily within the capabilities of the airplane," Messing added.
Delta, meanwhile, is exploring alternatives to the 787 to handle its overseas flights. Delta CEO Richard Anderson told analysts earlier this year that the Atlanta-based carrier is "technically" still a 787 customer but is "in negotiations with Boeing to figure out what's going to happen with those positions."
Some observers think Delta may be holding out for the next Dreamliner model, the 787-9, which will carry more passengers and travel longer distances.
"I suspect Delta is going to cancel or convert" its order, said aerospace blogger Jon Ostrower. He thinks Delta likely will add more Boeing 777-200LRs to its fleet.
The Post and Courier contributed to this report.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
CHICAGO -- United Airlines may have been the last major U.S. carrier to order new airplanes, but its passengers would be among the first to experience Boeing's 787 Dreamliner if the United-Continental merger goes according to plan.
The new carrier, which would retain United's name and be run by Continental CEO Jeff Smisek, would be the launch customer in the Americas for the much-delayed but potentially game-changing 787, sources said.
If the deal is derailed, that honor would go to Continental Airlines, which said last week that it will take delivery of its first 787 in August 2011. That's about five years before United is due to receive the first of 25 Dreamliners it ordered late last year.
Billed as ground-breaking, the Dreamliner is designed to burn 20 percent less fuel than similar midsize jets and produce 20 percent fewer emissions. Its composite frame, more flexible than conventional aluminum fuselages, allows more humidity in its passenger cabins, lessening the effects of jet lag. Major fuselage components for the 787 are made in North Charleston.
Continental is scheduled to receive six of the 25 new jets it has on order next year, giving it a jump on other North American carriers with global ambitions. Continental plans to launch its first 787 service on Nov. 16, 2011, flying to Auckland, New Zealand, from Houston, the largest hub of the new carrier and the focus of its early expansion plans.
It's too early to know whether the 787s would arrive from Boeing bearing the Continental or United brand, said Continental spokesman Dave Messing.
Merging airlines typically don't begin to combine brands and repaint fleets until well after their deal closes, said aviation consultant Robert Mann. United and Continental executives expect to wrap up their deal by late 2010, provided their merger isn't subjected to lengthy scrutiny by antitrust regulators.
But it remains unknown whether the 787, more than two years late, will meet its latest deadline and perform as Boeing has promised, and the uncertainty has prompted some carriers to cancel orders or to take later deliveries after problems are ironed out.
Continental vaulted ahead of Delta Air Lines on Boeing's 787 delivery schedule after Delta gave up the early production slots that it inherited by buying Northwest Airlines, the original U.S. launch customer, sources said.
But the first planes off a manufacturer's assembly line frequently fall short of expectations, arriving heavier than anticipated. That lessens a jet's range or lowers fuel savings, analysts said.
Rumors about the 787's performance has swirled as Boeing has reinforced the jet's composite frame with metal in places, potentially increasing its weight.
"The view is it's been compromised, although nobody knows by how much," Mann said.
Boeing has conceded it had weight issues with the first few 787s, but said it is resolving those problems with significant design improvements that start with the 25th Dreamliner.
The Auckland flight, the longest in Continental's schedule, would put the new jet to an immediate test. The 7,400-mile journey appears tailor-made for Continental's 787, which will seat 228 people. That route is unlikely to draw enough passengers to consistently fill a jumbo jet, but is too long for other midsize planes.
Continental's jets will include the upgrades, said Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter, and should have the 787-8's maximum range of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles. The new Auckland route "is easily within the capabilities of the airplane," Messing added.
Delta, meanwhile, is exploring alternatives to the 787 to handle its overseas flights. Delta CEO Richard Anderson told analysts earlier this year that the Atlanta-based carrier is "technically" still a 787 customer but is "in negotiations with Boeing to figure out what's going to happen with those positions."
Some observers think Delta may be holding out for the next Dreamliner model, the 787-9, which will carry more passengers and travel longer distances.
"I suspect Delta is going to cancel or convert" its order, said aerospace blogger Jon Ostrower. He thinks Delta likely will add more Boeing 777-200LRs to its fleet.
The Post and Courier contributed to this report.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Direct, spinoff jobs for Boeing to exceed 15,000
Source: SC Future [www.scfuture.org].
The Boeing Company will add $6.1 billion to South Carolina’s annual economy, according to a new economic analysis.
Over the first 30 years of operation (the length of time for the state’s infrastructure bond issue), the study estimates that Boeing will generate almost $2.76 billion in state tax revenues, far outpacing the cost of incentives.
The analysis was prepared by Dr. Harry Miley, a Columbia-based economist who was chief economic adviser for Gov. Carroll Campbell.
The study was commissioned by The Alliance for South Carolina’s Future, a nonprofit organization in Columbia dedicated to the state’s economic growth.
The manufacturing facility will have a $5.9 billion annual impact to the Charleston region, including more than 15,000 jobs that will be created as a result of the company’s impact. That number includes the 3,800 announced jobs that Boeing will create, along with thousands of spinoff jobs in other sectors of the economy.
“These impacts will begin to occur immediately once the facility is operational and will continue for the entire life of the facility,” according to the study.
The construction phase of the project is expected to have a major short-term impact as well with almost 9,900 direct and spinoff jobs, and a $1.4 billion impact to the region.
Construction activity will generate an estimated $246 million in direct labor income. When multiplied throughout the region in indirect and induced impacts, the total increase in labor income is estimated to be more than $413 million.
“The Alliance for South Carolina’s Future commissioned this study to put the Boeing project in historical perspective,” said Ed McMullen, co-founder of the Alliance. “We also wanted to quantify the effect Boeing will have on our state. By every measure, the effect is profound.”
Other findings in the study:
· The announced capital investment for Boeing ($1.025 billion) nearly equals all of the private capital investment made in South Carolina in 2003 ($1.128 billion).
· Boeing’s capital investment per job ($268,816) more than doubles the statewide average in 2003 and is significantly above the average in South Carolina since then. The capital investment per job is a good indicator of whether a new facility will help support local governments.
· If Boeing’s investment in South Carolina grows at a similar rate as that of BMW over the next 17 years, the company would employ 9,500 people and have a $10 billion capital investment.
· South Carolina must compete for jobs and new investment with incentive packages in part because the state’s property taxes on industrial property are too high. One study ranks South Carolina highest in the nation, putting the state at a significant disadvantage.
To view the complete study, please click here.
The Boeing Company will add $6.1 billion to South Carolina’s annual economy, according to a new economic analysis.
Over the first 30 years of operation (the length of time for the state’s infrastructure bond issue), the study estimates that Boeing will generate almost $2.76 billion in state tax revenues, far outpacing the cost of incentives.
The analysis was prepared by Dr. Harry Miley, a Columbia-based economist who was chief economic adviser for Gov. Carroll Campbell.
The study was commissioned by The Alliance for South Carolina’s Future, a nonprofit organization in Columbia dedicated to the state’s economic growth.
The manufacturing facility will have a $5.9 billion annual impact to the Charleston region, including more than 15,000 jobs that will be created as a result of the company’s impact. That number includes the 3,800 announced jobs that Boeing will create, along with thousands of spinoff jobs in other sectors of the economy.
“These impacts will begin to occur immediately once the facility is operational and will continue for the entire life of the facility,” according to the study.
The construction phase of the project is expected to have a major short-term impact as well with almost 9,900 direct and spinoff jobs, and a $1.4 billion impact to the region.
Construction activity will generate an estimated $246 million in direct labor income. When multiplied throughout the region in indirect and induced impacts, the total increase in labor income is estimated to be more than $413 million.
“The Alliance for South Carolina’s Future commissioned this study to put the Boeing project in historical perspective,” said Ed McMullen, co-founder of the Alliance. “We also wanted to quantify the effect Boeing will have on our state. By every measure, the effect is profound.”
Other findings in the study:
· The announced capital investment for Boeing ($1.025 billion) nearly equals all of the private capital investment made in South Carolina in 2003 ($1.128 billion).
· Boeing’s capital investment per job ($268,816) more than doubles the statewide average in 2003 and is significantly above the average in South Carolina since then. The capital investment per job is a good indicator of whether a new facility will help support local governments.
· If Boeing’s investment in South Carolina grows at a similar rate as that of BMW over the next 17 years, the company would employ 9,500 people and have a $10 billion capital investment.
· South Carolina must compete for jobs and new investment with incentive packages in part because the state’s property taxes on industrial property are too high. One study ranks South Carolina highest in the nation, putting the state at a significant disadvantage.
To view the complete study, please click here.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Union objects to potty numbers
By Katy Stech
The Post and Courier
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Reason No. 2, perhaps, that those 787 Dreamliners are so far behind schedule: long bathroom breaks at the North Charleston plants where workers piece together portions of the fuselages.
Employment has surged to more than 3,000 workers at the company's local campus as Boeing seeks to ramp up production of its hot-selling new jet. But male employees have complained that they are forced to share only a handful of bathrooms within the two existing industrial buildings.
The situation recently caught the attention of a union that represents some of the workers from the Puget Sound area in Washington who have been temporarily assigned to the Lowcountry plants.
Tom McCarty, president of Seattle-based Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace's Local 2001, and other labor officials traveled here last month to discuss the local working conditions with their roughly 100 union members at Boeing Charleston.
The male workers spoke of lines that, at times, snake out of the restroom areas.
"Sometimes, there's a waiting line, and the waiting line isn't insignificant," McCarty said.
Female employees reportedly have not faced a similar problem, likely because fewer women work at the plant, he said.
McCarty said he requested a meeting with local Boeing officials, who initially agreed, but pushed back the sessions to a point where the groups never were able to get together.
Boeing Charleston spokeswoman Candy Eslinger would not disclose the number of bathrooms on site, saying only that the facilities met local building code requirements. She said the company added two modular restrooms outside the plants last year.
McCarty, a 37-year Boeing employee, said he's never come across this situation in one of the company's buildings before.
He said it reflects the glitches that have pushed back the first 787 delivery by nearly two years.
Production problems at the airplane's worldwide network of vendors -- Reason No. 1 for the delays -- have forced Boeing to take more control of its far-flung supply chain.
McCarty said management "has been in got-to-make-it-work mode, and that's evident at the Charleston facility. They're scrambling."
The Post and Courier
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Reason No. 2, perhaps, that those 787 Dreamliners are so far behind schedule: long bathroom breaks at the North Charleston plants where workers piece together portions of the fuselages.
Employment has surged to more than 3,000 workers at the company's local campus as Boeing seeks to ramp up production of its hot-selling new jet. But male employees have complained that they are forced to share only a handful of bathrooms within the two existing industrial buildings.
The situation recently caught the attention of a union that represents some of the workers from the Puget Sound area in Washington who have been temporarily assigned to the Lowcountry plants.
Tom McCarty, president of Seattle-based Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace's Local 2001, and other labor officials traveled here last month to discuss the local working conditions with their roughly 100 union members at Boeing Charleston.
The male workers spoke of lines that, at times, snake out of the restroom areas.
"Sometimes, there's a waiting line, and the waiting line isn't insignificant," McCarty said.
Female employees reportedly have not faced a similar problem, likely because fewer women work at the plant, he said.
McCarty said he requested a meeting with local Boeing officials, who initially agreed, but pushed back the sessions to a point where the groups never were able to get together.
Boeing Charleston spokeswoman Candy Eslinger would not disclose the number of bathrooms on site, saying only that the facilities met local building code requirements. She said the company added two modular restrooms outside the plants last year.
McCarty, a 37-year Boeing employee, said he's never come across this situation in one of the company's buildings before.
He said it reflects the glitches that have pushed back the first 787 delivery by nearly two years.
Production problems at the airplane's worldwide network of vendors -- Reason No. 1 for the delays -- have forced Boeing to take more control of its far-flung supply chain.
McCarty said management "has been in got-to-make-it-work mode, and that's evident at the Charleston facility. They're scrambling."
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Boeing 787 design features a bit more headroom
By Katy Stech
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
There's a team of Boeing Co. professionals who are paid to study the dreaded elements of travel.
The fight, for example, to claim overhead bin space. The feeling of claustrophobia some passengers feel while strapped inside an airborne metal tube. That harsh slap of light at the end of the flight when attendants flip the switch so travelers can gather their belongings.
While Boeing can't do much about flight delays and strict security measures, executive Kent Craver said it has done its best to ensure "the onboard experience" for a 787 Dreamliner jet appeases even the pickiest travelers.
"We found that people love to fly; they just don't love to fly today," said Craver, Boeing's regional director of passenger revenue analysis.
The company provided the media and local officials a peek at a portion of a mocked-up 787 passenger cabin Monday at its North Charleston campus. The half-arc display was set up in one of Boeing's two existing fuselage plants, where a plastic-covered piece of fuselage section sat yards away, delivered fresh from a supplier in Grottaglie, Italy.
While many passengers board an airplane without giving much thought to the interior, Craver said he's confident the 787 has been designed in a way that passengers will notice.
"We do that with a sense of space," he said while inside the display's blue-lit interior.
The company's research showed that passengers are more conscious of the amount of space above their head than at their sides, so architects designed the 787 ceilings to seem taller than they actually are, Craver said. Also, the windows on the Dreamliner are 65 percent bigger than the ones installed in a 777 jet, adding to the spacious effect.
And instead of those plastic, roll-up window shades, each window has a dimmer button that tints the window to several different settings.
Lights throughout the plane are programmed to 14 different settings, which could help passengers on long flights adjust to the time of day.
The overhead bins can accommodate larger pieces of luggage. And engineers even tinkered with settings, such as cabin pressure and humidity, to ensure a more pleasurable flying experience.
The attention to detail has a bottom-line component to it. Craver pointed out that some seasoned frequent fliers and business travelers pick flights based on the aircraft model, so a well-designed plane could fill up faster.
"It increases demand with business-class passengers," he said.
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
There's a team of Boeing Co. professionals who are paid to study the dreaded elements of travel.
The fight, for example, to claim overhead bin space. The feeling of claustrophobia some passengers feel while strapped inside an airborne metal tube. That harsh slap of light at the end of the flight when attendants flip the switch so travelers can gather their belongings.
While Boeing can't do much about flight delays and strict security measures, executive Kent Craver said it has done its best to ensure "the onboard experience" for a 787 Dreamliner jet appeases even the pickiest travelers.
"We found that people love to fly; they just don't love to fly today," said Craver, Boeing's regional director of passenger revenue analysis.
The company provided the media and local officials a peek at a portion of a mocked-up 787 passenger cabin Monday at its North Charleston campus. The half-arc display was set up in one of Boeing's two existing fuselage plants, where a plastic-covered piece of fuselage section sat yards away, delivered fresh from a supplier in Grottaglie, Italy.
While many passengers board an airplane without giving much thought to the interior, Craver said he's confident the 787 has been designed in a way that passengers will notice.
"We do that with a sense of space," he said while inside the display's blue-lit interior.
The company's research showed that passengers are more conscious of the amount of space above their head than at their sides, so architects designed the 787 ceilings to seem taller than they actually are, Craver said. Also, the windows on the Dreamliner are 65 percent bigger than the ones installed in a 777 jet, adding to the spacious effect.
And instead of those plastic, roll-up window shades, each window has a dimmer button that tints the window to several different settings.
Lights throughout the plane are programmed to 14 different settings, which could help passengers on long flights adjust to the time of day.
The overhead bins can accommodate larger pieces of luggage. And engineers even tinkered with settings, such as cabin pressure and humidity, to ensure a more pleasurable flying experience.
The attention to detail has a bottom-line component to it. Craver pointed out that some seasoned frequent fliers and business travelers pick flights based on the aircraft model, so a well-designed plane could fill up faster.
"It increases demand with business-class passengers," he said.
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