EVERETT — Boeing Co. executives remain upbeat about global demand for airplanes as well as progress on their 787 jet.
“I think we’ve only scratched the surface in what we can achieve,” said Jim McNerney, Boeing CEO, during an investors’ conference this morning.
In the short term, McNerney sees a better outlook for commercial airplanes sales than the company did last year. In the long term, the chief executive also expects better international sales of Boeing’s defense products.
Some highlights from the conference:
On the 787:
“We have not flown as many hours as we had hoped to fly .. but flights are more efficient,” said Jim Albaugh, president of commercial airplanes.
Each of Boeing’s flight test airplanes needs to fly about 90 hours per month in order for Boeing to obtain FAA certification and deliver the aircraft later this year. Last month, each aircraft flew an average of 112 hours.
The company has completed many of the flight tests that would reveal whether the 787 had major problems, said Pat Shanahan, vice president of commercial airplanes.
“Aerodynamically, this plane is stable,” he said.
Boeing expects to put the fifth 787-8 flight test airplane, equipped with GE engines, in the air within the next few weeks, Shanahan said.
The company also plans to have firm configuration of the 787-9 design in June.
Boeing announced last year that it would establish a second 787 production line in South Carolina. Ultimately, the company intends to the second line to be “self-sufficient,” McNerney said.
747-8
Flight testing isn’t going as smoothly on the 747-8 Freighter program as on the 787, Albaugh said. But the company still has a plan in place to deliver the first freighter by the end of the year. To do so, Boeing is adding a fourth flight test aircraft, though it initially had planned to use only three.
777 and 737
Boeing is still looking at the longterm future of both programs to decide whether the 737 and 777 need to be replaced with all new aircraft or simply need enhancements. Boeing will keep in mind what competitor Airbus is doing on its competing aircraft, the A320 and its new A350.
The company has said it will increase production of both the 777 and 737.
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