Two Japanese firms to help in Sonic Cruiser development

  • Bryan Corliss / Herald Writer
  • Tuesday, January 29, 2002 9:00pm
  • Business

By Bryan Corliss

Herald Writer

Two Japanese aerospace companies have signed on to do research and development work on Boeing’s Sonic Cruiser, the company announced Tuesday.

The announcement does not mean Boeing has decided to have the companies build components for the jet, spokeswoman Lori Gunter said.

"It doesn’t have anything to do with money," she said. "It doesn’t have anything to do with parts."

The companies are Japan Aircraft Industries and Japan Aircraft Development Corp. JAI is a consortium of the Fuji, Kawaskai and Mitsubishi heavy industries — which already provide Boeing with components for 767s and 777s and were involved in 777 development.

"We have worked well with JAI for many years and look forward to the advances they will help us make," said Jeff Luckey, Boeing’s director of supplier management for the Sonic Cruiser program.

As it did with the 777, Boeing is bringing potential suppliers in to help develop the Sonic Cruiser, because "the sooner you get all the smart people talking together, the better the answers you get," Gunter said.

The difference is that Boeing is bringing in Sonic Cruiser research partners far earlier in the process, she said. That’s because the technology will be much more advanced. "It’s the first new flying machine concept since the 707."

The Japanese companies will invest their own money to develop technology — including composite materials — for the Sonic Cruiser and other new jets. If Boeing decides to use the technology, it would have to negotiate a separate agreement, Gunter said.

The deal does not signal that the Japanese companies have signed on as risk partners who would share in the development cost of the cruiser and the profits once it sells. It’s too early for those types of deals, Gunter said.

Boeing engineers working on the Sonic Cruiser are based in Everett.

The union representing engineers and technicians at Boeing has been critical of company moves to place design work overseas, but a deal with the Japanese companies isn’t as worrisome as other moves, said Bill Dugovich, spokesman for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.

The companies have been partners with Boeing for a long time, and Japanese airlines are good customers for Boeing jets. "If it produces sales, it’s a good partnership," Dugovich said.

You can call Herald Writer Bryan Corliss at 425-339-3454

or send e-mail to corliss@heraldnet.com.

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