Boeing may increase 787 production
Mar 19, 2007, 11:25 am
#1
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Boeing may increase 787 production
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17689714/
NEW YORK - Boeing Co. may increase production rates for its new 787 model as airlines continue to place orders for the sought-after jet, a company executive said Monday.
NEW YORK - Boeing Co. may increase production rates for its new 787 model as airlines continue to place orders for the sought-after jet, a company executive said Monday.
Mar 19, 2007, 1:27 pm
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787 on schedule for summer flight, company says
Very different emphasis in this AP article in Seattle times versus the Reuters article above, same company spokesman quote in each. Both very positive, however.
Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is on track for its first flight this summer and first delivery next year as the manufacturer nears 500 total orders for jet, the company said Monday.
Mar 20, 2007, 9:24 am
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I wonder how much more Boeing would ramp up production if UA, DL, & AA decided to head to the A350 if Boeing couldn't give them decent delivery slots. With a 5 year lag behind the 787, the A350 might be available in the right time slots for financially weaker US carriers.
Mar 21, 2007, 1:06 pm
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And the Seattle Times article about the same conference call:
The big sections produced so far measure up well, Bair reported, with the quality "actually better than we had anticipated."
Although the partners had built time into their schedules to repair expected defects in the big airframe parts, such as bubbles of air trapped in the plastic or delamination of the layers of tape from which the material is made, "we've had almost none," Bair said.
The manufacturing process is improving quickly with experience, Bair said.
The steps up the learning curve "have been far greater than any of us imagined," he said, "which bodes well for our ability to get more airplanes out of the fixed capital already in place."
Bair said a ramp-up in production is likely beyond 2009, once Boeing and its partners analyze the return on investment in the costly manufacturing equipment required: autoclaves, carbon fiber tape-laying machines and mandrels (the tools around which the single-piece plastic fuselage barrels are formed).
Boeing is already upping its own investment with the commissioning of a fourth modified 747 to add to its Dreamlifter superfreighter fleet. Two are flying and here in the Puget Sound region.
The first 787 wings, built in Japan, will arrive via Dreamlifter later this month.
As an extra insurance policy, Boeing has contracted with Russian heavy-lift air-cargo company Volga-Dnepr to provide an Antonov 124 when needed to back up the Dreamlifters....
The sales momentum of the new jet program continues unabated.
The firm-order tally stands at 490, and Bair said some major airlines have newly entered negotiations.
Instead of calming down, he said, sales activity may get "a little more frenzied."
Although the partners had built time into their schedules to repair expected defects in the big airframe parts, such as bubbles of air trapped in the plastic or delamination of the layers of tape from which the material is made, "we've had almost none," Bair said.
The manufacturing process is improving quickly with experience, Bair said.
The steps up the learning curve "have been far greater than any of us imagined," he said, "which bodes well for our ability to get more airplanes out of the fixed capital already in place."
Bair said a ramp-up in production is likely beyond 2009, once Boeing and its partners analyze the return on investment in the costly manufacturing equipment required: autoclaves, carbon fiber tape-laying machines and mandrels (the tools around which the single-piece plastic fuselage barrels are formed).
Boeing is already upping its own investment with the commissioning of a fourth modified 747 to add to its Dreamlifter superfreighter fleet. Two are flying and here in the Puget Sound region.
The first 787 wings, built in Japan, will arrive via Dreamlifter later this month.
As an extra insurance policy, Boeing has contracted with Russian heavy-lift air-cargo company Volga-Dnepr to provide an Antonov 124 when needed to back up the Dreamlifters....
The sales momentum of the new jet program continues unabated.
The firm-order tally stands at 490, and Bair said some major airlines have newly entered negotiations.
Instead of calming down, he said, sales activity may get "a little more frenzied."