Inside Opinion » Dreamliner

Boeing, going, gone – now let’s get to work

Kim Bradford — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:47:57 +0000

This editorial will appear in Thursday’s print edition.

Politicians may play the eternal optimists, but even they couldn’t feign surprise at Wednesday’s announcement that Boeing will begin assembling commercial jets omewhere other than Washington state.

Boeing hardly could have been more clear about its intentions to locate the second 787 Dreamliner production line elsewhere. By the time the workers at its newly acquired assembly plant in South Carolina voted to decertify their union last month, the decision was probably a fait accompli.

The chance to build planes without the threat of work stoppages that have plagued …

Boeing’s got the aces in match with Machinists

Patrick O'Callahan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:59:03 +0000

This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

No union likes having its back against the wall, but that seems to be where the Machinists union stands right now on the question of keeping 787 Dreamliner production in Washington.

Boeing has been ostentatiously talking to South Carolina about building a second 787 factory line in Charleston – in a nonunion plant – instead of Everett, where the plane is now being assembled. South Carolina lawmakers are offering the aerospace company a sweet package of incentives. Boeing’s Chicago-based corporate leaders are within days of deciding between Everett and Charleston.

Meanwhile, company …

State’s pitch to Boeing offers nothing new

Kim Bradford — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:14:36 +0000

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

The state’s new report trumpeting Washington’s aerospace advantages reads as if it were written by people convinced the competition for Boeing’s second 787 assembly line is either in the bag or out of hand.

Here’s hoping for the former. Washington workers and businesses can ill afford to lose this opportunity.

Gov. Chris Gregoire presented the report to Jim Albaugh, the new head of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes Group, last week. The company is due to make a decision by the end of the year about where …

Shuffle gives Boeing chance to push reset button

Kim Bradford — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:17:18 +0000

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

Boeing’s announcement on Monday that Scott Carson is leaving his post as CEO of the company’s troubled airplane business could be just the shakeup it needs.

Carson, who presided over the Dreamliner program that has broken company records for sales and delays, appears to be leaving of his own accord.

Analysts say the timing doesn’t indicate an ouster. The announcement comes days after the company had just restored some stability to its Dreamliner program by releasing a new timeline. Observers say that if the Boeing board were inclined …