Biz week

Published 9:50 pm Sunday, December 19, 2010

787 takes to the air

The 787 took to the skies last week in its first test flight. The three-hour flight was the first of many to ensure the plane can fly passengers safely. The first flight had been delayed more than two years, and thousands of people were excited to see it happen, finding spots at Paine Field, the Future of Flight Museum, nearby parks and Boeing Field in Seattle, where the Dreamliner landed. Pilots said the plane performed well. They had hoped to fly longer, but worsening weather made them land a couple hours early. “We even got to do a functional check of the windshield wipers coming back in here,” said chief pilot Mike Carriker.

Microsoft browser case ends: Regulators in Europe completed their last antitrust case against Microsoft as the company agreed to let Europeans choose from a menu of Web browsers that compete with Internet Explorer. The deal means that Microsoft, which has paid 1.7 billion euros during the past decade, will have no additional fines. The company said it would send an update in March that would allow users in Europe to choose from 12 Web browsers to download and install. People who buy a new PC will get the same choice through a screen that pops up when they start up for the first time.

Tanker bid politics: Members of Congress who support the Boeing Co. and others from the South backing Northrop Grumman met with Air Force officials last week to talk about what rules they believe would be fair for a $36 billion contract to build a new refueling tanker. The Air Force has been seeking a new tanker for several years. Northrop said it won’t bid for the work if it believes the rules are designed to favor Boeing. In the previous contest, the Air Force chose Northrop, but Boeing won an appeal contending it had been treated unfairly.

Mike Benbow, Herald Writer