Company Watch - Boeing

AirGuide Business, Sept 8, 2008

Sep 7, 2008

Alaska Airlines' last MD-80 was retired Friday, leaving the carrier with a fleet of 108 737s including 69 737NGs. It has eight more NGs scheduled for delivery this year. Alaska Air began a program in 2006 to retire its 26 MD-80s and replace them with 737NGs. It noted that the 737-800, of which it now has 37, burns 850 gal. of fuel per hr. compared to 1,100 by the MD-80. "A common fleet type also will result in lower costs for maintenance, training and flight crew scheduling," it said. Sep 1, 2008

An American Airlines passenger jet forced back to Los Angeles International Airport by a blown tire landed safely about two hours later on Tuesday after flying over the Pacific Ocean to burn off excess fuel. American Airlines Flight 1586, a Boeing 737 bound for Toronto with 135 people aboard, blew a left rear tire on its main landing gear, apparently on takeoff from LAX, at about 11 am local time, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said. Live local television coverage showed the plane touching down on an LAX runway and coming to a safe stop shortly before 1 pm local time. FAA spokesman said it was not immediately clear when the plane's crew first learned that the tire had blown, but the damage was confirmed during a low pass over the airport's control tower shortly after takeoff. American Airlines said the aircraft was carrying 130 passengers and five crew members. LAX is the world's fifth busiest passenger airport, and the third most heavily used in the United States. It handled nearly 62 million passengers in 2007. Sep 2, 2008

Boeing said it plans to deliver planes that had already come off production lines, but will not do any more work on assembling aircraft. Airlines tend to be wary of planes not produced by regular skilled workers. That means there will be no further production of its 737, 747, 767 and 777 planes, and that its already delayed 787 will fall even further behind schedule. Boeing spokesman Healy said a "protracted" strike could mean Boeing would miss its target of making the first 787 test flight in the fourth quarter. The plane was originally supposed to fly last summer, but has been derailed by a series of production problems. Sep 6, 2008

Boeing spokesman Tim Healy said the company was "open" to hearing from the IAM. Union volunteers rolled out 52-gallon oil drums -- known as "burn barrels" -- and readied coffee and soup to keep expected picketers warm at the company's Everett, Washington plant, despite the balmy late summer weather. The strike started officially for most of the union members at midnight Seattle time, which is when the previous three year contract expired. The bulk of Boeing's machinists work at plants around the Puget Sound area. Boeing said it would keep its plants open, with workers in other unions and non-union employees expected to come to work, but production lines at its massive facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington, would stop. Sep 6, 2008

Boeing, which made a USD$4.1 billion profit last year and has a record USD$275 billion worth of commercial plane orders in its books, could financially survive a short work stoppage. The strike will cost Boeing about USD$100 million in revenue per day and knock about 1 cent per day off earnings per share, according to analysts. The walk-out by the IAM is the fourth at Boeing in 20 years. The union struck for 48 days in 1989, 69 days in 1995 and 28 days in 2005. In 2002, a contract was adopted by default, as it was rejected by workers but fewer than two-thirds approved a strike. Sep 6, 2008

Boeing's "best and final" contract offer this time around was delivered to union members a week ago, proposing an 11 percent wage increase over the three year life of the contract, a one-time lump sum and ratification bonus, and other incentives that the company said would add about USD$34,000 to the pay of the average machinist, who now makes about USD$65,000 a year including overtime. That failed to meet union demands for a 13 percent wage increase, no change to health-care contributions and the roll-back of provisions allowing Boeing to outsource work. "The company's contract is like Swiss cheese. It's full of holes," said Marnie Young, a landing gear mechanic on Boeing's 777, who had homemade Minnie Mouse ears on her head. Sep 6, 2008

Boeing's 27,000-strong machinists' union walked off the job on Saturday after the plane maker failed to improve its contract offer after two days of emergency talks. At midnight, a crowd of more than 100 employees gathered near the entrance of Boeing's factory in Everett, Washington, whistling, honking and waving picket signs as the strike got underway. A small police presence ensured the scene was calm. The vast majority of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' (IAM) members voted to reject Boeing's "best and final" offer on Wednesday, but the union postponed a strike for 48 hours to give negotiators more time. Boeing and IAM negotiators, along with federal mediators, met near Orlando in a last-ditch effort to hammer out an agreement. No further talks are scheduled. Both sides said they were waiting for the other to make the first move. Sep 6, 2008