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Published November 2003
Boeing:
Air shipping
to be used for 7E7
By
Bryan Corliss
Herald Business Writer
Jets, not ships, will be the Boeing Co.’s main method of transporting large pieces of the 7E7 to its final assembly site.
That announcement, made in October, shouldn’t strongly affect Everett’s chances of being named the final assembly plant, said Deborah Knutson, the president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council.
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Proposed
pier moves step closer The state Department of Ecology has approved a city-sponsored amendment to Everett’s shoreline master plan, marking the first step toward construction of the proposed Boeing pier. The pier, which would serve the Boeing Co.’s Everett airplane assembly plant, is a critical selling point in the state’s bid to win assembly of Boeing’s new 7E7 aircraft here. The proposed 500-foot pier also would benefit Boeing’s existing aircraft assembly operations by allowing barges to more easily unload oversized aircraft components and transport them by rail to the assembly plant. In July, the City Council unanimously approved a shoreline amendment that allows a “transportation facility of statewide significance” to be constructed adjacent to Edgewater Beach near the Mukilteo tank farm. The City Council will finalize changes to the shoreline amendment in November, said city Planning Director Paul Roberts. The Port of Everett's next step is to file an application for the environmental review permits, Port Director John Mohr said. |
Paine Field is big enough to support the flights, and “it comes right up to the door of the factory,” Knutson said.
The decision also doesn’t lessen Boeing’s desire for the proposed new pier at the base of Japanese Gulch, a spokeswoman said.
“We still need to transport by water,” said Yvonne Leach, a spokeswoman for the 7E7 program.
Still, some observers questioned the logic of shipping large parts by plane, and suggested that the announcement was part of the negotiating process with potential final assembly sites.
“It does make you a bit skeptical,” said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group in Virginia.
Boeing said it plans to convert at least three used 747-400 jets to carry large completed subassemblies to the final assembly site.
That will include completed wings and fuselage sections, Leach said.
The sections will be far larger than anything Boeing’s suppliers deliver to the Everett factory. The largest component Boeing barges in is the center section of 777s, which is 15 feet by 101 feet, Leach said. The 7E7 parts arriving by air will be larger.
But those sections will be lighter, because they will be made of fiberglass-like composite materials, which makes it feasible to ship them by air.
“That allows us to build larger, more integrated assemblies that will come from all over the world,” Mike Bair, the senior vice president in charge of the 7E7 program, said in a prepared statement. “Regardless of where the final assembly site, air transport is a perfect solution.”
Airbus already flies major sections of its planes between factories in Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and France where they are fabricated, and the final assembly sites in Tolouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany. Airbus uses a fleet of five radically modified A300 jets, which it has nicknamed “Belugas.”
The difference between that and what Boeing plans is the distance, Leach said. Boeing will likely fly in sections completed by suppliers in Italy and Japan, so it needs a long-range airplane like the 747-400.
Research showed “just phenomenal” advantages to shipping by air — cutting delivery times from weeks to hours and slashing costs by more than 20 percent, Leach said.
However, shipping by water still remains a key part of Boeing’s plan, Leach said. It’s not feasible to move every piece and component by air, so the company still is focusing only on sites with deep-water access.
© The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA
