Third Quarter 2008
July 1, 2008
Boeing announces it has installed two CFM56-7B engines on the U.S. Navy's first P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The Navy plans to purchase 108 P-8As to replace its fleet of P-3C aircraft.
News Release
July 8, 2008
Boeing and SkyHook HLV International Inc. announce an agreement to develop the JHL-40, a new commercial heavy-lift aircraft. The JHL-40 rotorcraft will be able to transport equipment and materials in remote regions.
News Release
July 9, 2008
Boeing releases its 2008 Current Market Outlook, which forecasts a $3.2 trillion market for new commercial airplanes over the next two decades. The outlook predicts a shift toward new airplanes to replace older, less efficient jetliners. Replacement airplanes represent a greater share of demand (43 percent) than previously forecast (36 percent), the report says.
News Release
July 11, 2008
Boeing and industry and government partners announce they have reduced fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions significantly by using of Tailored Arrivals, an air traffic management concept. Three airlines made 57 flights into San Francisco International Airport using a continuous descent rather than a conventional step-down approach, reducing fuel consumption during descents by up to 39 percent.
News Release
July 14, 2008
During the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways announces an order for 35 787 Dreamliners and 10 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes in a deal valued at $9.4 billion at list prices.
News Release
At the same air show, Dubai's low-cost airline FlyDubai announces an order for 50 Next-Generation 737-800 jetliners valued at $3.74 billion at list prices.
News Release
July 15, 2008
The first 777 Freighter takes to the sky for the first time. The airplane completes the scheduled three-hour inaugural flight with no airplane performance-related issues, but a data-communication problem between the airplane and the telemetry room at Boeing Field prevents some tests from being conducted that day.
News Release
July 21, 2008
Boeing's Salt Lake City fabrication facility earns International Organization for Standardization 14001 certification, which confirms the plant has a system in place to protect the environment. The achievement is part of Boeing's plan to certify all of its major manufacturing facilities to the ISO standard by year's end.
News Release
July 22, 2008
Boeing announces an agreement to acquire Insitu Inc., a pioneer and market leader in the design, development and manufacture of unmanned aircraft systems. Boeing and Bingen, Wash.-based Insitu have partnered since 2002 and together developed the successful ScanEagle unmanned aerial system program.
News Release
July 24, 2008
The U.S. Air Force Materiel Command selects Boeing as a prime contractor for future aircraft sustainment work under the projected 10-year, $6.9 billion Future Flexible Acquisition and Sustainment Tool program. Boeing will compete for work in support of all Air Force-operated weapon systems, including Special Operations Forces systems.
News Release
The U.S. Army conducts a successful soldier test of Future Combat Systems early Spin Out systems and capabilities at Ft. Bliss, Texas. The exercise marks the culmination of seven months of work for FCS project managers, the U.S. Army Evaluation Task Force and operational testers who assessed early FCS systems and capabilities to be accelerated to infantry brigade combat teams.
Aeroflot Cargo enters into service three leased MD-11 Boeing Converted Freighters. Boeing Capital Corporation structured the leasing deal and Commercial Aviation Services conducted the modification work. Boeing has converted more than 100 MD-11 passenger airplanes to freighters.
Aug. 2, 2008
Boeing and industry partners test a sustainable biofuel mix and other technologies on a hydroplane during the Seafair summer festival in Seattle. The unlimited hydroplane runs on a mix of Jet A fuel and a biofuel blend of babassu and coconut oils. Hydroplanes provide a high-performance proving ground for demonstrating power generation and reliability attributes of sustainable biofuels.
Aug. 4, 2008
Boeing announces the completion of a 20,500-square-foot satellite Mission Control Center in El Segundo, Calif. The center can manage up to four commercial or government satellite missions at the same time. The U.S. Air Force is expected to be the first customer.
Boeing is awarded a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory contract to demonstrate High Integrity Global Positioning System technology concepts. The effort combines satellite signals from the Iridium Low Earth Orbit telecommunications system and GPS Mid Earth Orbit navigational satellites to enhance navigation availability, integrity, accuracy and jam-resistant capabilities for warfighters.
News Release
Aug. 9, 2008
Boeing begins major assembly of the first 747-8 Freighter, which includes more than 6 million parts. The new freighter is expected to build on the 747 family's leadership in the air-cargo market.
Aug. 10, 2008
Landing gear swing testing begins on the first 787 Dreamliner. The test replicates an actual extension and retraction of the landing gear as it would function on a regular flight. The testing involves swinging the landing gear into a stowed position and back down into a landing position.
Aug. 12, 2008
Thousands of Boeing employees, program industry partners and guests from the U.S. Navy gather in Renton, Wash., for events to commemorate the factory and pre-flight completion of the first P-8A Poseidon.
News Release
Aug. 13, 2008
Boeing announces it has successfully completed the first ground test of the entire weapon system integrated aboard the Advanced Tactical Laser aircraft. The C-130H with a rotating turret on its belly fired its high-energy chemical laser through its beam control system, which acquired a ground target and guided the beam to the target using its battle management system.
News Release
Aug. 14, 2008
American Airlines announces an order for 26 Next-Generation 737-800s, airplanes that will help the carrier accelerate its fleet renewal plan. Twenty are exercised options. The other six are new orders.
News Release
Boeing announces the completion of the first Boeing Business Jet 3. The airplane, based on a Next-Generation 737-900ER (Extended Range) airplane, is sent to DeCrane Aircraft in Georgetown, Del., to receive its long-range auxiliary fuel system and head-up display. Its final stop is at a completion center to install a custom interior.
News Release
Aug. 22, 2008
Boeing and MACRO Industries Inc. of Huntsville, Ala., sign an exclusive agreement for Boeing to license a ballistic-protection material. Developed by MACRO, the lighter, stronger material can be used in armor for ground and air vehicles, helmets, body armor and many other products that require hardened capabilities.
Aug. 26, 2008
Boeing is awarded a five-year U.S. Army contract valued at $4.3 billion for 181 CH-47F Chinook helicopters, and 10 additional Chinooks under separate funding. There are options for an additional 24 rotorcraft over the course of the contract. The multiyear award will yield a cost savings of more than $449 million for the U.S. Army and taxpayers.
News Release
Aug. 28, 2008
Boeing announces a donation of $1 million toward building a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall. "Striving to create a better future by bringing people together, enabling communication and protecting peace is what inspires our 160,000 employees every day," says James Bell, corporate president and chief financial officer. The memorial is expected to be complete in 2010.
News Release
Sept. 5, 2008
More than 27,000 Boeing employees in Washington, Oregon and Kansas represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers initiate a work stoppage.
News Release
Sept. 10, 2008
The U.S. Department of Defense cancels the KC-X Tanker competition. A Boeing statement reads, "Boeing welcomes the Defense Department's decision and believes it will best serve the warfighter in allowing this important and complex procurement to be conducted in a thorough and open competition."
Sept. 12, 2008
Several advanced Air Traffic Management concepts and technologies, including the Boeing-developed Tailored Arrivals approach procedure, are demonstrated during an Air New Zealand 777-200 flight from Auckland to San Francisco. The flight showed how proposed features of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's Next Generation Air Transportation System can produce significant reductions in fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions.
Sept. 15, 2008
Boeing announces the ahead-of-schedule delivery of the Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals prototype to a university laboratory, where it will be used to further develop communications capability for the U.S. Air Force. FAB-T will provide military forces with a family of software-defined radios that use satellites to share information among ground, air and space platforms.
News Release
Sept. 17, 2008
Boeing awards a $45,000 grant to New Leaders for New Schools to use for coaching and developing talented professionals moving into leadership positions in underperforming public schools in Washington, D.C.
Sept. 22, 2008
Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems unit renames its customer-support business Global Services & Support and launches a new division within GS&S: Defense & Government Services. Boeing estimates the defense and government services market is worth approximately $400 billion over the next 10 years.
News Release
Boeing is ranked as leading aerospace manufacturing company on the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index published by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a London-based investor-led nonprofit group that examines corporate understanding of business risks associated with climate change.
Sept. 24, 2008
British Airways announces an agreement for Boeing to provide a performance improvement package for the carrier's 42-airplane 777 fleet. The improvements will result in a 1 percent fuel efficiency gain, as well as reduced emissions. The package includes a drooped aileron, a ram air system and redesigned wing vortex generators.
The package is committed on at least 10 777 fleets totaling 170 airplanes. The resulting improved fuel burn will eliminate 3 million pounds (1.36 million kg) of carbon dioxide emissions per airplane each year.
News Release
Boeing Phantom Works and NASA researchers announce they have successfully stalled and recovered the unmanned, remotely piloted X-48B research aircraft during two flights. The tests helped researchers better understand the aerodynamic characteristics of the blended wing body aircraft concept.
Sept. 25, 2008
Boeing and several global air carriers establish a working group focused on sustainable aviation fuel development. With support from environmental groups, the World Wildlife Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group aims to help drive sustainability practices into the aviation fuel supply chain.
News Release
Boeing announces an agreement to acquire Tapestry Solutions, a San Diego-based company specializing in services and software systems that improve the tracking and distribution of equipment, spare parts and personnel for the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies. The acquisition is expected to accelerate the growth of Boeing's service and support business.
News Release
Sept. 28, 2008
Boeing completes 'high-blow' testing on the 787 Dreamliner static airframe. High-blow testing involves pressurizing the airframe to 14.9 pounds per square inch (1.05 kg per square cm) -- a level 1.5 times higher than the maximum the airplane is expected to see when it is in service.
Sept. 30, 2008
Amid economic turmoil, airplane appraisers and industry analysts at Boeing Capital Corporation's annual Appraisers Forum show significant interest in where Boeing predicts the commercial airplane market is heading. The session sets attendance records and includes 90 percent of the industry's certified airplane appraisers, along with leading bank analysts covering the airplane financing sector.