For Boeing, 2011 will be a year of opportunity

Next year will be pivotal for the Boeing Co.

As one might expect, the top priorities will be getting the delayed 787 and 747-8 programs on track.

“We will continue to focus on getting the 787 into commercial service, and the 747-8 as well,” said Nicole Piasecki, vice president of business development.

And the company will be boosting production rates to keep up with renewed demand for commercial jets in 2010. It’s a demand that Piasecki believes will continue into 2011, which should be a “healthy order year,” she said.

But 2011 also will be a year in which Boeing works to try to understand and meet its customers’ needs — in the near term with services and the long term with new technologies and new planes.

“It should be an exciting year for us in terms of commercial aviation services,” Piasecki said.

Those services start before an airline even takes delivery of a new airplane and continue until the jet is retired from flight. Boeing is already working with 787 and 747-8 customers to provide pilot training for the new aircraft.

After new aircraft — be they 787s or 777s — are delivered, the airplanes and their customers have new needs. Piasecki noted that airlines are outsourcing about 70 percent of the services required after receiving a new jet. That includes maintenance work, keeping an inventory of spare parts, and updating older jets with new interiors.

As new aircraft become more technologically savvy, airlines increasingly will rely on others to maintain their fleets. With the 787, for instance, Boeing has created a service program to help airlines operate their new planes as efficiently as possible. The company views commercial aviation services as an area with huge growth potential and one in which Boeing believes it has an advantage over emerging competitors as well as its main rival, Airbus.

Besides providing aviation services, Boeing will be working closely with customers in 2011 in order to understand what airlines are looking for in new airplanes.

Not only will that help Boeing determine next year what it needs to do to update the 737 and 777 programs, but it will help Boeing understand how the airline industry will look in 2020 and beyond, Piasecki said.

“We want to use 2011 to understand the necessary, vital technology” of the future, she said.

Boeing will be talking to its customers about what they’re expecting over the next 20 years and longer. It will look at how economical planes will need to be; how financing will play a role; and what type of cabin improvements passengers might expect.

That also means taking into account the needs of different carriers, some of which don’t even exist yet.

For example, air travel in China is expected to rise dramatically over the next few decades, prompting the emergence of new carriers. The needs of Chinese carriers will vary dramatically from those of U.S. legacy carriers, for example, Piasecki said.

Although determining upgrades for the 737 and the 777 are the more pressing decisions for 2011, Boeing is committed to ultimately creating new, innovative technologies for those aircraft and for the company’s next all-new jet.

“We like airplane programs that can last for 50 years,” Piasecki said.

Talk to us

More in Herald Business Journal

A man walks by Pfizer headquarters, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in New York. Pfizer will spend about $43 billion to buy Seagen and broaden its reach into cancer treatments, the pharmaceutical giant said Monday, March 13, 2023. (AP Photo / Mark Lennihan, File)
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to acquire Bothell-based Seagen

Pfizer announced Monday it plans to acquire Seagen in an all-cash deal for $43 billion.

Lacie Marsh-Carroll stirs wax before pouring candles in her garage at her home on March 17, 2018 in Lake Stevens. (Kevin Clark / The Daily Herald)
Women business owners in Snohomish, Island counties make their mark

In honor of Women’s History Month, we spotlight three local business owners.

x
Edmonds International Women’s Day takes place Saturday

The Edmonds gathering celebrates women and diversity with this year’s theme, “EmbraceEquity.”

Owner and CEO Lacie Carroll holds a “Warr;or” candle at the Malicious Women Candle Co workspace in Snohomish, Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. The business is women run and owned. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Malicious Women Co: She turned Crock-Pot candles into a sassy venture

Lacie Marsh-Carroll is rekindling her Snohomish candle company with new designs and products.

Kelly Matthews, 36, left, Tonka, 6, center, and Nichole Matthews, 36, pose for a photo in their home in Lynnwood, Washington on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.  The twin sisters work as freelance comic book artists and illustrators. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Drawing interest: Twin sisters never gave up on making their mark

Lynnwood sisters, Kelly and Nichole Matthews, got their big break a decade ago and now draw comics full time.

Willow Mietus, 50, poses for a photo at her home in Coupeville, Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Mietus bought a former Frito-Lay truck to sell her dyed yarn out of. She calls it "The Wool Wagon." (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The Wool Wagon to hit the streets of Whidbey Island

A self-described “professional yarn temptress” from Coupeville is setting up shop in a modified truck.

IonQ will open a new quantum computing manufacturing and research center at 3755 Monte Villa Parkway in Bothell. (Photo courtesy of IonQ)
Quantum computing firm IonQ to open Bothell R&D center

IonQ says quantum computing systems are key to addressing climate change, energy and transportation.

Nathanael Engen, founder of Black Forest Mushrooms, sits in the lobby of Think Tank Cowork with his 9-year-old dog, Bruce Wayne, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, in downtown Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Growing green mushrooms in downtown Everett

The founder of Black Forest Mushrooms plans to grow gourmet mushrooms locally, reducing their carbon footprint.

Barb Lamoureux, 78, poses for a photo at her office at 1904 Wetmore Ave in Everett, Washington on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. Lamoureux, who founded Lamoureux Real Estate in 2004, is retiring after 33 years. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Lamoureux, ‘North Everett’s Real Estate Agent’ retires

A longtime supporter of Housing Hope, Lamoureux helped launch the Windermere Foundation Golf Tournament.

Bothell
AGC Biologics in Bothell to produce new diabetes treatment

The contract drug manufacturer paired with drug developer Provention Bio to bring the new therapy to market.

The Walmart Store on 11400 Highway 99 on March 21, 2023 in in Everett, Washington. The retail giant will close the store on April 21, 2023. (Janice Podsada / The Herald)
Walmart announces Everett store on Highway 99 will close on April 21

The Arkansas-based retail giant said the 20-year-old Walmart location was “underperforming financially.”

Everett Memorial Stadium and Funko Field on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Drive to build new AquaSox ballpark gets $7.4M boost from state

The proposed Senate capital budget contains critical seed money for the city-led project likely to get matched by the House.