Boeing’s Shanahan: ‘It makes my eyes water’ to see 787 sections ready for Everett line

  • Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer
  • Thursday, February 23, 2012 9:09am
  • Business

Suppliers on the 787 program are making Boeing Co. executive Pat Shanahan tear up — in a good way.

“Personally, it makes my eyes water” to see suppliers sending 787 sections that are 100 percent complete, Shanahan said with a laugh.

Boeing’s senior vice president of airplane programs spoke Thursday at Barclays Capital conference in Miami. Shanahan’s remarks were webcast.

Shanahan was upbeat on the progress of Boeing’s 787 program. The 787 struggled through numerous setbacks with its global suppliers and in production, leading to a more than three year delay in delivery. But the Dreamliner’s launch customer, Japan’s All Nippon Airways, has received five 787s, which are performing well in service, Shanahan said.

“The 787 is performing as well or better than the 777 when it went into service,” he said, noting initial feedback on the 787 has been “very positive.”

Dreamliner assembly in Everett is going well. Boeing is building 787s at a rate of 2.5 jets monthly, Shanahan said.

However, the supply chain already has moved up to a rate of 3.5 jets per month.

“They’re already there,” Shanahan said. “We’re going to be there (in production) in a couple units.”

Boeing plans to be at a rate of 10 787s monthly by the end of 2013.

As Boeing moves up to that rate, Shanahan sees ample opportunity for cost savings. The company is working with its 787 suppliers to cut costs as well as fine-tuning production.

Shanahan believes the cost savings could be as much as $1 billion. The jet maker is under pressure to make the 787 more profitable quickly. It has estimated the delays in the program cost billions of dollars.

The 787s that are rolling off the production line in Everett have less work still to be finished than the early built Dreamliners.

Shanahan estimated recently produced 787s have between 500 to 1,000 jobs remaining before the aircraft are ready for delivery. The remaining tasks mostly included engine and seat installation as well as some required testing. Some of the 787s that were built early on had between 5,000 and 7,000 tasks remaining to be finished, he said.

Boeing has dozens of 787s parked around Paine Field in Everett, where they’re awaiting work. The company has thousands of workers assigned to do change incorporation work on those Dreamliners. If all goes as planned, Shanahan expects the company to be able to shift those workers back into the factory in Everett to support the increase in production.

“If we could build more, people would buy more,” Shanahan said of demand for the 787.

Boeing also has a second 787 assembly line in North Charleston, S.C. That site has performed better than anticipated, Shanahan said. Boeing plans to deliver the first 787 from North Charleston this summer.

The company also plans to activate its 787 “surge” line in Everett in June, Shanahan said. Boeing re-arranged its factory in Everett last year, shrinking production space for the 767, which created more room for 787.

“That second line will basically replicate what we’re doing on the first line,” he said.

Shanahan called Boeing’s surge line in Everett “temporary” though other company executives, including commercial airplanes’ president Jim Albaugh, have hinted the line could become permanent.

“We want to run (787)-8s down one line and -9s down another,” Shanahan said.

Boeing plans to deliver its first 787-9, the next version of the Dreamliner, next year. Besides the 787-9, Boeing also has several airplanes in development, including its re-engined 737 MAX and the 767-based tanker. The company has moved engineering resources from the 747-8 program to those other planes, Shanahan said.

On the development side, “we’ve got the band back together and we’re performing well,” he said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.