420 Dreamliners are on the books

Seattle Pos-Intelligencer ^ | September 9, 2006 | JAMES GUNSALUS

[skeptoid]

The Boeing Co., the world's second-largest maker of commercial jets, now has 420 commitments from airlines to buy its new 787 Dreamliner.

The 787 program remains on schedule, and engine testing is ahead of schedule, Craig Saddler, the chief financial officer on the project, said Friday at a conference in New York. Boeing is continuing to invest to bring down the plane's weight, he said.

With 377 firm orders through August, initial production of the aircraft has started. The first flight in the third quarter of next year will mark the next major milestone before Chief Executive Jim McNerney begins shipments in 2008. He is counting on the 787 to win back dominance of the $60 billion-a-year jetliner market from Airbus. ......

[skeptoid]

" .... Production of the Dreamliner is dependant on suppliers that will ship pre-assembled fuselage parts and wings from all over the world to Boeing's wide-body factory in Everett. A record 70 percent of the jet's parts come from outside suppliers. ....

....Airbus, still without a plane to compete with the 787, said separately Friday that it won orders for 222 airliners in the first eight months of the year, less than half of the total of its U.S. rival. Deliveries totaled 283 planes .......

....... Boeing booked orders for 561 airliners over the same period and delivered 258 aircraft, according to its Web site. ....."

[COEXERJ145]

It's too bad Boeing just lost it's best salesman.

[COEXERJ145]

Ack, The second "it's" should be "its".

[BW2221]

They were interviewing Alan Mulally, the Boeing executive who left Boeing to become Ford CEO on a talk radio show. They asked if you ordered a dreamliner today, when would it be delivered. Mulally said in the middle of 2009.

Is this guy going to be in for a culture shock. He's going from an industry that has one basic competitor - Airbus, an inefficient government-controlled bureaucracy to competing against Toyota, Hyundai and GM. In the auto industry, sales are measured on a monthly basis and new cars are sold to 16-million individuals rather than through big contracts.

Commercial airlines base buying decisions on logical things (cost, fuel efficiency). Auto buyers decisions are filled with emotion - do I like the grill and the tail lights?

It's going to be interesting to see if Mulally is the savior of Ford Motor Company's equivalent of Matt Millen, the Lions horrendous general manager. For those of you who are not sports fans, the Ford family has also owned the Detroit Lions since 1962, a team that has ONE playoff victory in that time. That's right - one playoff victory, NOT one Super Bowl.

[llevrok]

Dreamliner Screamliner

Just make the damn luggage bins a decent size! (ha)

[appeal2]

It will be a challenge. A lot depends if these moronic unions understand that the company has compete and make money or none of them will have jobs. What I do like about Mulally is that he is an engineer and designer. In the car business now, you need to be an artist and keep down costs. One reason Chrysler hasn't been hit as hard as Ford and GM is that its product design is far superior. Look at the Jeep, 300, Charger, the upcoming Aspen and several others. The Germans are tops at product design and have helped Chrysler quite a bit.

[BW2221]

I'm not sure if you can give all the credit to the Germans. Chrysler has had a strong design team since the early 1990s, when it was a twinkle in Mercedes eye. While Viper has never made money, it helped symbolize the Dodge brand. Grand Cherokee, the Ram pick-up and the models you mentioned have to my knowledge been styled by Americans.

Ford's biggest problem isn't engineering or manufacturing. You were correct when you talked about styling. It's the worst of the Big Three or any major auto manufacturer in the U.S. in terms of styling. Ford depends so heavily on the full-size pick up and the new Chevy Silverado and GMC Envoy, which will be introduced later this month, are supposed to be dynamite. A totally-redesigned Tundra is coming in January.

No outsider has been successful in managing an automotive company since the 1920s. If I were Bill Ford, Jr. I would have gone after Jim Press of Toyota big-time and given him whatever he wanted (including the Lions).

[Boazo]

420? Time to smoke a bowl.

[skeptoid]

....Mulally said in the middle of 2009 ...

That report must be from a while ago. At the rate of one every three days, today's order will be delivered 2011 or 2012. But there are provisions for another final assembly line, if warranted, which would cut the waiting line. (Would that mean a Dreamliner every day and a half?)

I'm fascinated by the innovation and risk involved in the 787 project.... there are so many 'firsts' involved.

BTW, the first Large Cargo Freighter will be in Seattle very soon if all goes well.

See the bottom of this Boeing announcement for some pretty current numbers.

[skeptoid]

Nah, I use regular bleach on my toilets.

[COEXERJ145]

Mulally is a force to be reckoned with.

I would count him up there with Gordon Bethune as one of the best cooperate executives in the last 20 years.

[brooklin]

ping

[Erik Latranyi]

Just make the damn luggage bins a decent size! (ha)

Just check your bags and stop trying to bring the kitchen sink onto the plane!

[BW2221]

The only similarities between the airline and auto industries is that they are both transportation industries.

Most large auto dealerships sell 420 vehicles (new and used) every month.

[BW2221]

"Mulally is a force to be reckoned with."

We'll see. They said the same thing about big-hitters from the consumer products industry when GM and Ford started hiring them in the 1990s. Ron Zarrella (from P&G) was brought in to head marketing at GM. Karen Francis was brought in after a tremendous run in consumer products and named to head the Oldsmobile Division. Need I say more?

You and I probably differ in that (I am assuming you believe) if an executive is a star in one industry, he/she can succeed in another. I do not necessarily agree. I have been in several companies that were destroyed by leaders who had extremely successful careers, but couldn't become acclimated to very different businesses.

Mulally is in for the greatest challenge of his life. He is coming to a company that's one of the weakest in the industry. He'll be measured on a monthly basis (that's how automotives sales are reported and COMPARED). Toyota, Honda and even GM are a greater challenge than Airbus ever dreamed of being. He'll be working with a dealer organization (and many Ford dealers also own Toyota, Chevy franchises, etc.). He'll be marketing to end users rather than selling to governments and major corporations.

As I said earlier, no one has come into the industry at a major level and been successful in 85 years. Carlos Ghosen on Nissan- Renault (formerly of Michelin)comes the closest to being an outsider. I hope Mulally succeeds, but we'll see.

[llevrok]

Just check your bags and stop trying to bring the kitchen sink onto the plane!

I fly 150,000 miles a year. I need the kitchen sink!

[Erik Latranyi]

I fly 150,000 miles a year. I need the kitchen sink!

So do I. I've leared how to travel "smart" and check everything except my briefcase....and I have not lost anything yet.

It drives me up the wall when people board the plane with a briefcase, massive roller-board, two shopping bags and a purse, then take 10 minutes to find overhead space.

[Cobra64]

Just make the damn luggage bins a decent size! (ha)

Luggage should be checked. And passengers should not use the aisle as a dressing room.