Jumping through tanker hoops …

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, April 11, 2007

To compete for a multibillion-dollar contract supplying the U.S. Air Force with refueling tankers, Boeing Co. officials had to provide pretty detailed information. How detailed was it?

Boeing’s proposal for its KC-767 tanker included:

* 7,000 pages in 25 books

* 32 cartons

* 1,250 graphics

* 53 pages of acronyms

The use of acronyms probably saved Boeing’s competitors, partners Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space (acronym: EADS) hundreds of pages.

Mark McGraw, vice president of Boeing’s tanker program, noted the effort exerted by both Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes and Integrated Defense Systems employees. Roughly 1,000 Boeing employees laid hands on the proposal, including CEO Jim McNerney.

The two divisions worked together to submit an “offer I didn’t think was possible six months ago,” McGraw said. “It’s a very compelling offer.”