Boeing in Washington: 15,446 jets and counting

While the fate of the Boeing 777 line in Everett is debated and decided by union members and politicians, let’s consider what this state has accomplished and what the aerospace business means. Here are some ways of looking at that legacy.

Washington Boeing jetliner heritage: 56 years

Boeing delivered its first passenger jet, a 707, in 1958 to Pan American World Airways. But the most amazing plane of all might be the modest little 737, which has been in production longer than many of its builders today have been alive.

All-time Washington jetliner production: 15,446

Global economics and changes in travel make the commercial-airplane business a rollercoaster. But overall production has grown with the world’s population — even with increased competition from other planemakers. The data point for 2013 is for the period through October.

2012 Boeing manufacturing employment: 72,900

For 2012, that figure represents actual Boeing manufacturing employees, but there are an additional 31,700 “indirect” people working for aerospace suppliers and 104,800 people whose “induced” employment is unrelated to aerospace but exists because of aerospace.