Company Watch - Boeing

AirGuide Business, Sept 1, 2008

Aug 31, 2008

Aegean took delivery of eight Airbus A320s/A321s in the first half and returned four 737-300s to lessors, bringing the fleet at the end of June to 27 aircraft compared to 24 a year earlier. Aug 28, 2008

An Air France KLM Boeing 747 aircraft on a flight from Paris skidded off the runway after landing at Montreal's Trudeau Airport on Tuesday but there were no injuries or serious damage, police said. Passengers were taken off the plane by emergency crews after it overshot the runway and became stuck in the grass. Operations at the airport were not seriously affected and planes continued to land and take off. Aug 27, 2008

B/E Aerospace subsidiary FSI won US FAA STC status for the retrofit installation of its Door 3 Overhead Attendant Crew Rest on Continental Airlines' Boeing 777-200s. OHAR is 800 lb. lighter than the Lower Lobe Crew Rest it replaces and is expected to generate revenue through additional seat and cargo capacity. Installation will take place in Hong Kong. Aug 25, 2008

Boeing has been weighing its response to the A350 for some time while balancing the need to wait for hard performance numbers from the 787 structural test program. The flight test program should be underway in early November. Qantas Group has ordered 65 of the smaller 787s. The A350 series has emerged in the past year as a potent competitor to both the 230/280-seat 787 and the 777, although delivery of the largest model, the -1000, will not begin until 2015. The 777-300ER and A350-1000 each burn approximately 20% less fuel per passenger than a 747-400. Aug 28, 2008

Boeing will build or remanufacture up to 215 CH-47 Chinooks through 2014 under a new $4.3 billion package of deals signed by the US Army. The package includes a five-year contract worth $3.8 billion for 181 CH-47Fs, a supplemental contract for another 10 helicopters and an option to buy 24 more, says Lt Col Thomas Todd, the army's program manager for the CH-47 program. Locking in the multi-year procurement deal reduces the cost of the entire purchase by $449 million, or slightly more than 10% of the total value. The average cost per aircraft now amounts to $20 million. Aug 28, 2008

Boeing has downplayed that threat, saying talks have been productive. A strike by the IAM could cost the company USD$3 billion a month in lost revenue if plane orders are not filled. Boeing's commercial planes unit took in USD$8.6 billion in revenue last quarter, or about USD$2.9 billion per month. A strike also could further delay Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, which is key to the company's financial future. In this round of negotiations, Boeing has taken the unusual step of presenting its proposals on its web site directly to the workers, a move that circumvents the IAM. Typically, the union would present the offers to its members. Aug 27, 2008

Boeing on Tuesday offered its largest union wage increases amounting to 9 percent over three years, which it hopes will prevent a strike that could cost USD$3 billion a month. However, the union later rebuffed the offer. Boeing's proposal was the first full counterproposal to cross the negotiating table since Saturday, when the International Association of Machinists (IAM) rejected Boeing's previous offer as "insulting" and issued its own proposal. The IAM responded by saying it will work through the night and present a counterproposal to Boeing on Wednesday. Aug 27, 2008

Boeing said its latest offer to its lagest union boosts the basic pension benefit to USD$78 per month for each year of credited service. The revised offer is Boeing's second, but the company has said it would make its last and best offer in time for the US Labor Day holiday this weekend. The IAM's 27,000 members were set to vote on the contract on September 3, when the current 36 month deal expires. Without a new deal, the IAM could vote to strike as early as September 4. Boeing has downplayed that threat, saying talks have been productive. Aug 27, 2008

Boeing spokesman Tim Healy said the company would end negotiations after it makes its last proposal, which could come on Thursday or Friday. IAM members were set to vote on the contract on September 3, when the current three year deal expires. Without a new pact, the IAM could vote to strike as early as September 4. Union members held a rally on Wednesday at a Boeing plant in Everett, Washington. At least a thousand workers walked outside at lunch time and chanted "Strike! Strike! Strike!" before returning to work. The workers carried signs and wore T-shirts with slogans like "I'll strike if I have to" and "Share the profit$." Aug 27, 2008

Boeing's largest union said it was preparing to issue a contract proposal on Wednesday, as negotiations ground on ahead of a threatened strike that could cost the company USD$3 billion a month. The union, which represents 27,000 Boeing employees, said an offer from the plane maker on Tuesday featured some "deal breakers." The IAM rejected the company's previous proposal, calling it "insulting." Boeing's offer on Tuesday included wage increases amounting to 9 percent over three years. The deal also would boost the pension benefit to USD$78 per month for each year of service. The company said it was awaiting a counter-proposal and that it would put forward its own final offer in time for the US Labor Day holiday weekend. Aug 27, 2008