EVERETT – Snohomish County will get its day in the world spotlight next week, courtesy of the Boeing Co.
Everett serves as the backdrop as Boeing unveils its new 787 Dreamliner on July 8. The company estimates as many as 100 million people around the globe will watch the event.
For people living in the Puget Sound region with Boeing in their back yard, this may seem like just another airplane event. But this rollout will be unlike any other because Boeing’s new jet is unlike any other.
“Certainly Boeing has never done anything of this magnitude,” said Scott Hamilton, an industry analyst with the Leeham Co., of the 787 rollout.
Then again, Boeing has never done a plane like this before, Hamilton noted.
The 787 is a truly composite airplane in more than just the material sense, he said.
For the first time, carbon fiber composites, not aluminum, will comprise the majority of the exterior of a commercial jet, making it lighter and stronger.
That, in turn, will make the jet more fuel efficient for airlines and more comfortable for passengers because it will allow greater humidity, less cabin pressure and bigger windows.
The jet is also a composite of many major segments built by Boeing’s global partners.
Instead of putting together most of the pieces of a jet, as it has in the past, Boeing will snap together big segments fashioned in places such as Japan, Italy and China.
That’s another reason so many viewers around the world will turn their eyes to Everett to watch the Dreamliner’s debut.
It’s not just 787 suppliers who are excited about the Dreamliner. The plane has won more than 600 orders from 45 customers in just over three years.
“We’re clearly captivating the world’s airlines with this plane,” said Mike Bair, Boeing’s vice president of the 787 program, said earlier this year.
That means workers in Boeing’s Everett factory will keep busy for years to come, a major boost to the county’s economy.
The plane, which Boeing eventually intends to piece together in three days, is already sold out until well into 2013.
To capture all the 787 hoopla, a horde of national and international media – Boeing estimates about 200 – will be poking around Snohomish and King counties this week.
Boeing plans an all-day pre-787 rollout event Friday in Seattle. Snohomish County will sponsor a tour of the county Saturday with stops in downtown Snohomish and a salmon lunch with the Tulalip Tribes. The Future of Flight Aviation Center in Mukilteo will be the spot for a Saturday evening reception while the museum will hold a 787 rollout event for the public the next day.
About 15,000 people will gather at Boeing’s Everett factory next Sunday afternoon to catch their first glimpse of the painted Dreamliner. Boeing has invited each of its 45 Dreamliner customers – from Korea Air to Kenya Airways, from Air New Zealand to Air China – to participate. Former “NBC Nightly News” anchor and journalist Tom Brokaw will emcee the event.
And up to 50,000 people could watch the event televised at Qwest Field. Then there are the millions of viewers expected to tune into satellite and webcast programs.
In fact, some of Boeing’s partners have planned their own Dreamliner rollout parties – some partners in Japan, Italy and the United States will participate in the premiere via two-way satellite technology. One supplier plans a 787 party in a large barn at a horse track in London. Another will screen the Dreamliner rollout on a cruise ship in Puget Sound.
While Boeing still has the first flight of the 787 later this summer and first Dreamliner delivery next May to consider, the company certainly plans to savor the moment next Sunday.
“Rollouts historically, whether it be Boeing or Airbus, are typically when you throw the party,” Hamilton said.
Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454; mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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