Boeing Blog: Randy's Journal Archives

21 February 2007

Dream on

We just got a look at the first production forward section of the 787 Dreamliner. And I wanted to give you a chance to see it as well. This photograph kind of makes you realize just how close we are...

15 February 2007

New pilot program

We’ve talked quite a bit lately - and especially around the Current Market Outlook - about the amazing growth we forecast in the world’s commercial aviation fleet over the next 20 years. But what about all the pilots we’re going...

09 February 2007

Dashing -8

We've just made available a neat 90-second program about the interior of the 747-8 Intercontinental. It was filmed inside our remarkable new -8 sales display here in Renton. My colleague Blake Emery, who has the unique title of Director,...

01 February 2007

Gaining altitude

Almost exactly a year ago I was musing about some very encouraging financial results for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and about the guidance for strong growth - and optimism - in the years ahead. Well, here we are, having just...

23 January 2007

Looking ahead

A couple of weeks back I invoked Yogi Berra in saying that "it ain't over 'till it's over." Well, now that all the year-end orders results are in, we can talk a bit about what it all means, and...

12 January 2007

Twin engines for the long-haul

On Monday the FAA announced that all commercial passenger airplanes, no matter how many engines, will operate under the same standards. It’s part of the agency’s release of a new Extended Twin Operations (ETOPS) rule governing long-range flights over remote...

05 January 2007

Déjà vu all over again

Looking over the final orders numbers for 2006, I just had to chuckle, recalling baseball legend Yogi Berra, who once said, “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.” My thoughts exactly. Who’da thunk it, right? One...

21 December 2006

Deck the halls

All I can say is, "Wow, it's been an incredible year." So many things have happened in our business in 2006 I don't even know where to begin. I guess I can just sum up by saying that with...

15 December 2006

Virtual dreams

We've all been following the 787 program closely - I think that's understandable. There's no question that this is a big project. All eyes in the aviation world are on us as we head toward final assembly early next...

08 December 2006

Shape of the future

There's a great expression that applies very well to events this week: "The future is now." Or better yet, the shape of the future is a beautiful, iconic airplane called the 747. With the fabulous endorsement from Lufthansa of...

05 December 2006

Out to launch

By now I'm sure you've read that Airbus has gotten the official okay to go out and launch the latest version of the Airbus A350 - the 2nd industrial launch for this airplane in 14 months. And in general,...

01 December 2006

Liberalization

Each time we update Boeing's Current Market Outlook, and really just about every time I deliver a presentation on the road, I talk about the concept of "liberalization." And simply put, liberalization in this context refers to the phenomenon...

22 November 2006

Talkin' turkey

Media reports say that EADS/Airbus is poised to launch the latest version of the A350 very soon. So I thought this would be as good a time as any to summarize the Boeing view on the "XWB" based on...

15 November 2006

Start me up

Startup airlines. There seem to be new ones popping up every day. Around the world, the numbers are staggering. Of course, all airlines were once startups. And some relatively recent startups have enjoyed enormous success and have evolved into...

09 November 2006

China magic

I just spent the past couple of weeks in China. Annually, we present our new China market 20 year forecast and product strategy overview. This year my colleague John Bates accompanied me to give the detailed product briefings. We...

01 November 2006

Air mail

Over recent months I've noticed that a lot of the comments we get are not only comments, but also pose some thought-provoking questions and raise some interesting issues. So as I've done occasionally in the past, I'd like to...

26 October 2006

3Q 2006

Earnings day tends to be a big event around Boeing. Yesterday was no exception. And as we heard from company leaders, our third quarter results reflect Boeing’s continued focus on executing our business plan and keeping our promises to...

16 October 2006

Added revenue

Since the successful launch of the 747-8 program last year, and the great response to the freighter (44 freighter orders from five customers to date), as well as orders for 3 VIP models, we've been having more and more...

12 October 2006

Good as gold

Typically when I'm out talking about commercial airplanes, what seems to get all the attention is our strategies and our newest products. But another big piece of the story is services and support. I haven't talked much about this...

06 October 2006

Staying focused

The production issues in the news concerning the A380 program have led to the usual questions for me and many others here at Boeing. As can be expected, in the media there's some intense interest in the question of...

27 September 2006

Good Hope

I had always heard that Cape Town was a beautiful place to visit. Last week, I had the opportunity to go there and see for myself. I was in South Africa for the African Aerospace & Defense exhibition at...

22 September 2006

A-maze-ing airplanes

I've been accused of being corny before. And that's okay. But I would not be doing my duty as a Boeing blogger if I didn't share with you a couple of a-maze-ing photos. Like a flying cathedral, the Large...

13 September 2006

Taking flight

A first flight is always something to see. It’s the “moment of truth” in an airplane’s early life. It says, “Yeah, we designed this thing, and now we’ll show you that it can actually take to the air.” We’ve...

07 September 2006

Change at the top

By now you've read or heard about the big changes here at Commercial Airplanes. Our new president and CEO is Scott Carson. Alan Mulally has joined Ford Motor Company as president and CEO there. I know Scott and work...

30 August 2006

Father still knows best

Tales of double-deckers, double-aisles, and how the space behind the flight deck became what it is today. It's all covered in a new book by Boeing's own Joe Sutter, the engineer and retired BCA executive now affectionately known as...

23 August 2006

Made in the shade

Every once in a while I like to go through the comments, with an eye toward what's getting people worked up. Recently we talked about the demonstration at Farnborough of the electronic window shades on the 787. And it...

16 August 2006

Father knows best

"You know, this is one of the great ones." That's what Charles Lindbergh once said to Joe Sutter. He was talking about the 747. He might just as well have said it about Sutter himself, the Boeing engineer who...

09 August 2006

Dreamliner notebook

There's a lot of interesting stuff going on lately. And what with Farnborough and summer vacation, it's been a challenge to catch up. But let's begin with the re-launch of a very cool Website. You may have visited newairplane.com...

28 July 2006

Heading into August

Before we enter into the traditional August lull in the aviation world, I wanted to share a few additional thoughts and items coming out of Farnborough - including some great news coverage at the show. At the DreamSpace exhibit,...

26 July 2006

2Q 2006

Back in Seattle just in time for the release of Boeing's second quarter earnings report. And taking a look at the data, I just have to reflect on the hype surrounding orders at Farnborough last week. As someone said...

21 July 2006

Aisle be back

FARNBOROUGH, England - It's something of a tradition at air shows for us to visit the exhibit areas of our competitor and for them to do the same. You may recall that last year at Paris it made for...

20 July 2006

Weight watchers

FARNBOROUGH, England - They say it was a bit cooler here today, and perhaps that's true. But to me the humidity seemed higher, so it felt even more sweltering at the air show grounds. An umbrella came in handy...

19 July 2006

Flying circus

FARNBOROUGH, England - And now for something completely different. A little change of pace. Some flavor of what's happening on the ground at the air show while the airplanes are soaring overhead in the searing heat this week. The...

18 July 2006

The X-files

FARNBOROUGH, England - For most people, Day 2 at the big air show probably meant a second day of sunstroke and perspiration. I don't know if this is yet record heat, but this has to be one of the...

17 July 2006

Counting crows

FARNBOROUGH, England - I know this is supposed to be a week-long marathon, and we're supposed to pace ourselves, but today was a sprint from start to finish. It began on the broadcast viewing platform overlooking the airfield bright...

16 July 2006

777 on stage

FARNBOROUGH, England - A brief note from the show grounds today. I had to mention the big beautiful bird that has arrived at Farnborough. Early this morning Taiwan's EVA Air landed at the airfield with a 777-300ER in special...

16 July 2006

They say it's your birthday

LONDON - I can't think of a more fitting way to kick-start the Farnborough Air Show, which begins tomorrow, than to celebrate a big milestone for The Boeing Company. Call it a birthday, call it an anniversary, but 90...

12 July 2006

In the year 2025

There was a pop song in the late 1960s called, "In the Year 2525." Aside from projecting a very gloomy outlook for the future, the song's performers, Zager and Evans, also have the dubious distinction of being the only...

07 July 2006

Leapfrog

A quick Google search will tell you that "leapfrog" is a children's game in which one player "leaps" over another player's back. So, you might say, "Randy, what's that got to do with the current state of commercial airplanes?"...

30 June 2006

Now boarding

In the U.S., this coming weekend is a huge one for leisure travel. A lot of people will be flying. And if you're like me, the process of boarding an airplane can be, shall we say, a real challenge....

23 June 2006

Big airplanes

There's a saying we hear a lot in the business: big airplanes are hard. Meaning, it's very challenging to build a large commercial airplane. And in the past week or so, we've all been reminded of this simple truth....

14 June 2006

Myth-busting

I just got back to Seattle from a trip that took me to Paris, among other places. And in Paris, as I mentioned the other day, the 62nd Annual General Meeting of IATA was underway last week. The International...

09 June 2006

Growth in the air

This is probably going to be no great surprise to anyone who's flown on an airline lately. More of us are flying, and on more flights. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which just held its annual "World Air...

06 June 2006

On-time arrival

I'm sure everyone's noticed all the media coverage speculating on what Airbus is going to do about the airplane currently known as the A350. It's a meaningful discussion because it centers on the important "middle of the market" -...

30 May 2006

Winging it

I guess you just can't keep a good airplane down. Or at least the wings. And maybe other parts. For instance, I see that a woman in California is building a house out of parts of a 747 jumbo...

24 May 2006

California dreamin'

Something very significant took place yesterday, for both the Boeing Company and the commercial aviation industry. In Long Beach, California, AirTran Airways and Midwest Airlines took delivery of the very last Boeing 717s. The 717 program produced 156 airplanes,...

17 May 2006

Meet me in St. Louis

One of the things I talk about a lot is airplane performance. But for a little change of pace I'd like to talk a bit about business performance. And I mean talk. I've nearly talked myself hoarse these past...

10 May 2006

Weight another minute

After our blog the other day, "Weight a minute," about the 747-8F and the A380F, a bunch of you weighed in yourselves. As in, wait a minute Randy, you conveniently neglected to mention that the A380F has more range!...

02 May 2006

Nuts about blogs

Southwest Airlines, welcome to the blogosphere. Southwest, an outstanding Boeing customer, has decided that blogging is not so nutty, and started up the Southwest Airlines Blog">Nuts about Southwest blog a couple of weeks ago. As Southwest proclaimed in its...

27 April 2006

Weight a minute

I've heard that the competition is complaining that Boeing is out there "grossly exaggerating" the weight differences between the A380 freighter and the new 747-8F - to make the case that the 747-8 freighter is more efficient than their...

20 April 2006

"China rocks!"

I got to witness history this week. And that's no exaggeration. I was one of about 5,000 Boeing employees in the Everett factory on Wednesday when Chinese president Hu Jintao paid a visit. An Air China 747-400 rolls to...

12 April 2006

Office hours

Sometimes I travel to where the media is, and sometimes they pay me a visit here in Seattle. This week, I got to talk with a couple of international reporters without having to go any farther than the lobby...

06 April 2006

Big blue doors

One thing you have to say about Boeing's Everett, Washington facility - they like to do things in a big way up there. This sweeping view of the Everett factory gives you some sense of the huge scope of...

03 April 2006

Max headroom

I got this email some time back from Dale in Melbourne, Australia, and I've been meaning to address this very subject here in the blog: Randy, could you please clarify a couple of points for me? Is the 787...

23 March 2006

Latin rhythm

In the commercial airplanes business, there's been so much talk lately about burgeoning markets in places such as China and India, that sometimes another rapidly growing region gets left out of the discussion. That's probably what led Carlos V....

14 March 2006

War of inches

Airplane interiors - now that's a topic that really gets people squirming in their seats! The blog we did a couple of weeks back about the so-called "7 inch" difference between the A320 and the 737 turned out to...

09 March 2006

Breakfast in New Zealand

I'm back in the office, and getting caught up after several weeks' travel. And since I've been gone I've noticed that trees are now in bloom and Spring has sprung already in Seattle, which is always a good sign....

02 March 2006

Width is which?

There's a misleading statement popping up lately in the media. It's even come up in discussions with reporters here in Australia and New Zealand this week. So I think it's important to take a moment to set out some...

23 February 2006

Going Intercontinental

At the air show in Singapore this week, you may have heard that it's been a real hot one. In more ways than one. It's been rather humid and in the upper 80s. I know that our exhibits are...

22 February 2006

Uniquely Singapore

The advertising campaign promoting Singapore tourism these days is called, "Uniquely Singapore." My uniquely Singapore moments began the night I got into town for the Asian Aerospace 2006 show, and they haven't let up since. I began my visit...

14 February 2006

5K run

It's not every day you get to deliver 5,000 of a single airplane type, AND set a Guinness World Record in the process. It all happened at a little celebration yesterday in Renton, home of the Boeing 737 Program....

08 February 2006

Dash 10

If it's a new year, then it must be time to city-hop through Europe once again, chatting with customers, industry investors, supplier partners, and media. I just spent an enjoyable couple of weeks traveling to Ireland (Dublin and Shannon)...

02 February 2006

Guidance

You can measure success as a company in a lot of ways. For me, a measure of success for Boeing Commercial Airplanes right now is the plan we have in place for tomorrow, and the validation in the marketplace...

30 January 2006

Not easy being green

I've heard of credit cards giving you cash back on your purchases, but how about cash back on a purchase of a huge commercial airplane? Maybe you've seen the piece in Flight International. Basically, the story goes, Airbus says...

25 January 2006

Annus Mirabilis

Indeed it has been a “year of wonders,” not the least of which because of the ability of this blog to reach people around the world. When I think about what an amazing year we just witnessed in the...

18 January 2006

Field position

We're in the midst of a bit of a fever here in the Pacific Northwest. The local team, the Seattle Seahawks, is one game away from the "Super Bowl" of American football. So forgive me if a few sports...

13 January 2006

Future tense

At the beginning of a new year, there's a lot of discussion about the previous year and the perceived Boeing - Airbus "horse race." We've already talked a little bit about the Boeing side of the ledger - 2005...

05 January 2006

Vr and beyond

In pilot-speak, VR is rotation speed, or the point at which an aircraft begins to rotate its nose into the air for takeoff. I think it's a good analogy for Boeing's trajectory as we look back on the past...

22 December 2005

Milestones

The first full day of winter is as good a time as any to reflect on the year that's coming to a close. Especially since we've reached some remarkable milestones that I'll talk about in a moment. The onset...

15 December 2005

Qantas leap

Yesterday we got the great news that Qantas has selected the Boeing 787. It's a big order, from a big player in the industry, in what's shaping up to be a big year for the Dreamliner. But let's talk...

09 December 2005

D.C. flurries

There’s at least one thing Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D.C. have in common. They both go a little bonkers at the first sign of winter weather. Earlier this week I flew into D.C. in the midst of a few...

29 November 2005

Sentimental journey

Every airplane we produce is a sentimental favorite to someone. And I’ve taken the time to talk about some of those sentiments here from time to time. So as production progresses on the last 717-200 - which will be...

21 November 2005

Sleepless in Dubai

Sleepless in Seattle has nothing on Sleepless in Dubai. That and other interesting tales in a minute, but first, the big news out of the air show. Sunday was the first day of the 2005 Dubai Air Show, and...

18 November 2005

Looking for a win

Tomorrow is going to be a big day in Seattle, for sure. No, this has nothing to do with commercial aviation. It has to do with hometown, or at least home state, rivals. It's the big football game between...

15 November 2005

"8" and still great

It's been a long time coming and we've gone through a number of phases where we thought it was just around the corner. But today I can tell you, with more than a little excitement, that we've officially launched...

10 November 2005

Into the record books

"Going the Distance" has seldom had greater meaning than at this moment. We've made aviation history today by setting a world record for distance traveled nonstop by a commercial jetliner. It's a personally exciting milestone for me because I...

03 November 2005

Double-take, single-aisle

A couple of months back I touched on the speculation in the industry about a future single-aisle product to replace the Boeing 737. I basically said don't believe the talk that a replacement is "just around the corner." Well,...

26 October 2005

Gotta wear shades

There's some good stuff to take away from Boeing's third quarter earnings report today. And continuing good news perhaps for the local sunglasses business, too. I'll explain that in a minute. But first, what the Boeing 3Q report essentially...

20 October 2005

Investing in the future

I get a lot of questions when I'm out traveling around. Many times those questions begin with what you might call a "leading statement." Such as: "Airbus has developed more new and derivative airplanes than Boeing over the past...

13 October 2005

China and the next 20 years

I recently returned from almost two weeks in China. And as always when I travel, I got to talk with a lot of people about the aviation industry. While we were there, my colleague Randy Tinseth and I presented...

07 October 2005

October surprise?

So Airbus has officially launched the A350. Nobody should be at all surprised. Well, maybe there is one surprising aspect to all this. The fact that it took them so long to respond to the 787. I suppose 23...

04 October 2005

Flying fish

Sometimes there's a story that's just too fun not to mention. For instance, the debut this past weekend of one incredible-looking airplane. When you live in this part of the world you're never very far from salmon. So it's...

29 September 2005

Poll position

I try to read a lot of industry-related periodicals to stay on top of various opinions about commercial airplanes and Boeing products. In particular, I always look forward to reading Airfinance Journal's annual poll. The 2005 Investors' and Operators'...

21 September 2005

From the flight deck

"This is your captain speaking. We hope you're enjoying your flight as much as we are up here on the flight deck." Maybe you won't hear those exact words from your pilot, but when you look at the recently...

13 September 2005

Leg room

Recently I was talking about how airplane seat designers have come up with ways to give passengers more personal space without affecting an airline's bottom line. You'll be seeing this new generation of seats on the 787 Dreamliner. But...

09 September 2005

Orders and deliveries

Underscoring the progress we've made in 2005, another very significant airplane order came in this week. LOT Polish Airlines will purchase seven 787 Dreamliners. In a head-to-head competition with the A350, LOT says it chose the Dreamliner after a...

02 September 2005

Nobody wins

Two things are certain at times like this. First, we greatly disappoint our customers. And second, we strengthen our competitors. We've been through three previous strikes by machinists in my 31 years at Boeing. The most recent one was...

26 August 2005

Leading by a nose

Just in case you didn't hear about it yesterday, we had another major milestone in the development of the 787 Dreamliner. In Wichita, Kansas, Boeing and our 787 partner, Spirit AeroSystems, unveiled the first all-composite "nose" section for the...

24 August 2005

Freight that flies

Last week one of the world's largest package delivery companies ordered eight 747-400 freighters. It's a good reminder of the fantastic staying power of the 747. But it's also something much more. You don't have to go any further...

18 August 2005

The bottom line

Something everyone seems to want to talk about when they talk about flying is the comfort, or lack of it, in their seating. I think the 787 will be a fine addition to the Boeing family, but what will...

10 August 2005

Blogging the stratosphere

I would not be true to my blogging self if I went too long without a tip of the hat to the folks at Connexion by Boeing. Last month Connexion hosted bloggers and reporters for a demonstration of high-speed...

08 August 2005

Goodnight, Peter

When I last wrote about ABC News anchor Peter Jennings back in April, we were all hopeful that he would win his battle with lung cancer. Sadly, it was not to be. Jennings died last night at his home...

03 August 2005

Plane truth

A pretty good article this week in the King County Journal, a Seattle-area newspaper, points out that orders in 2005 for 737s alone are already far more than Boeing received in total orders of all airplane models in all...

29 July 2005

Worldliner on Broadway

The 777-200LR World Tour has been around the globe and back again. The world's longest-range airliner has been to Beijing, Dubai, Paris, Taipei, Karachi, Singapore, Mexico City, and a bunch of other cities and countries since the tour began...

28 July 2005

Shark fins and bullet trains

Recently, Boeing finalized the exterior look of the 787 Dreamliner. And we sure heard about it after we released the new images. I'm so glad the 787 success is going to put Boeing back on top with recent key...

19 July 2005

More passengers, more range, no more X

You may have heard talk about the proposed 737-900X. Well, it's talk no longer, and it has a new designation: Boeing 737-900ER (Extended Range). Back in May, Lion Air, the Indonesian low-cost carrier, said it intended to purchase up...

13 July 2005

The magic is back

A recent poll of readers of "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine found that 87% of the seasoned travelers who make up their readership listed airplane seating quality as the feature they would most like to see improved. I mention this...

07 July 2005

It's in our hands

We had a little bit of news at Boeing just before the Independence Day holiday. You may have heard that a new CEO took the reins of the company. And he's already paid a visit to us here in...

29 June 2005

Reality check

As I look through the surprising number of order announcements at the Paris Air Show, my mind quickly runs back to air shows of the past when there were similar feeding frenzies. Farnborough Air Show 2000, for example. Back...

23 June 2005

Timing

One of the key stories to come out of the Paris Air Show last week had to do with the future of the Boeing 747. In a news briefing during the show, Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Alan Mulally...

20 June 2005

Moving forward

Just as you're recovering from a couple of weeks of Air Show frenzy in Europe, you come home to some disappointing news. Basically, over the weekend, Air Canada cancelled its order for 777s and 787 Dreamliners. The Air Canada...

16 June 2005

To the finish line

All I can say is, you just never can predict what's going to happen in this business. If you'd told me that Boeing would have ended the week with orders and commitments for nearly 150 airplanes, I wouldn't have...

14 June 2005

Hot day in Paris

The weather and the activity heated up during the second day here at the Paris Air Show. As temperatures rose, so did Boeing's interactions with customers, suppliers, government officials, media and Wall Street types. There's a positive buzz at...

13 June 2005

Monday at the show

The first full day of activity at the Paris Air Show sure bustled with events. And I mean from the moment we hit the road very early in the morning to the time we headed back to the hotel...

10 June 2005

Bonjour de Paris

Well, I'm on the ground in Paris. And the whirlwind is under way. I've already met with dozens of reporters both here and in London, and we're just getting warmed up. Le Cirque du Bourget has begun! Boeing's big...

08 June 2005

2024 vision

I'm in London today, presenting Boeing's 2005 Current Market Outlook (CMO). Typically we do this each year around the time of the big international air shows in June and July. With the Paris Air Show coming up next week,...

03 June 2005

On to Le Bourget

It's almost Paris Air Show time again. It comes around every two years, and sometimes it seems as if we start working on the next one right after it's over. We're already planning for the 2006 air show in...

31 May 2005

Setting the stage

There's an excellent, wide-ranging piece in Airline Business entitled "On a roll." Since the Web article is accessible only by subscription, the magazine has kindly provided us a PDF version of the article that you can read here. It's...

25 May 2005

Two launches and a first flight

One of the launches I’m talking about today is actually a new Boeing blog I think you’ll be interested in. But first, the first flight. A new blue airplane has taken to the skies over Puget Sound. It’s the second...

20 May 2005

Kangaroo hop

I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. What else is new? London and New York recently, and last month a trip Down Under. That journey got me thinking about airport congestion, which I'll get to in a moment....

16 May 2005

Back to the future

A few days ago I talked about the fact that Airbus airplanes can certainly fly nonstop, point to point, but that their forecast and product strategy is rooted in a historic hub and spoke system. They're selling a huge...

10 May 2005

What's the point of P2P?

On my recent trip to Europe I flew non-stop from Seattle to London. But my destination was actually Geneva, so I had to make a connection at Heathrow Airport. Do you think that if there was a non-stop option...

05 May 2005

Dream(liner) team

On Cinco de Mayo many people celebrate with food and song. What do you say, today we also celebrate a cornucopia of new possibilities for air travelers? Think Detroit to Shanghai. Non-stop. Northwest Airlines (NWA) just announced a significant...

04 May 2005

Boeing 001 Experimental

Great story this week in the Seattle Times. It's an update on the flight-test program underway right now for the 777-200LR Worldliner. This is an amazing airplane, and they're putting it through the full gamut of stall tests, engine...

03 May 2005

Your point of view

The other day we were talking about the "rapid rewards" of non-stop flights. It was a fun play on words. But the fact is, non-stop flights are designed to get passengers from point A to point B without getting...

29 April 2005

A hot rod's final delivery

It's been an incredible week, the likes of which we haven't seen in a while. First Air Canada and then Air India announce they're selecting 787s and 777s to renew their fleets. Then you throw in the A380 first-flight...

27 April 2005

Big bird aloft

Bien joué. Well done. Anyone in aviation can tell you that first flights rank way up there on the list of exciting, memorable, and emotional highlights in our industry. You might even add "spine-tingling" to those descriptions. So, it's got...

26 April 2005

O (Air) Canada!

A few days ago I was talking about the concept of a "game changer." Well, the news this week is really re-defining the meaning of "game changer" in our industry. Just for starters, Air Canada changed the game big-time...

22 April 2005

Rapid rewards

There's a great piece out this month in Air Transport World, if you get a chance to see it. It's essentially a profile of Southwest Airlines and its CEO, Gary Kelly. What really caught my attention is a section...

19 April 2005

The game changer

Wow. That's about all I can say. Wow. Well, okay, there are a couple of other things I can say about the excitement around the world for the new 787 Dreamliner. Our newest launch customer is Korean Air Lines,...

13 April 2005

Five card draw

I'm not a poker player. But I know enough about the game to realize that the way Airbus might play it would get them thrown out of any Las Vegas casino. What I'm taking about is the government "launch...

08 April 2005

Godspeed, Peter

I'd like to say a word about a real gentleman from the broadcast media who just got some sobering news. Peter Jennings of ABC's World News Tonight announced this week he's been diagnosed with lung cancer. As Jennings himself...

05 April 2005

Trading spaces

It's not exactly "Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition." Maybe something more along the lines of "Trading Spaces." Whatever you want to call it, we've got some new software and a new look, and I couldn't be more thrilled with our...

29 March 2005

Beer and Wiener schnitzel

I'm back recently from spending 10 days bouncing between 5 countries. I'd like to post a few thoughts about the adventure. The trip was a great chance to meet again with reporters, airlines, airplane finance people, investors, and industry...

22 March 2005

In focus

We've had an interesting couple of weeks as a company, that's for sure. But none of that has made a bit of difference down here on the ground. The focus at Commercial Airplanes is, as always, on our customers...

17 March 2005

Extended twin-engine operations

One of the more gratifying parts of doing what I do is hearing from so many people who have such an interest in everything to do with airplanes. And I'm constantly amazed at the depth of knowledge folks have,...

11 March 2005

First flight of the Worldliner

We've been going out around the globe for the past several years telling Boeing's story very aggressively. In fact I just got back from a long trip to Europe talking with people across the Continent about passenger desire for...

07 March 2005

What happened to "4 engines 4 long haul"?

A few weeks ago I was in Washington, D.C., talking with a lot of people about aviation and all of the changes that have been going on in the industry in recent years. These changes are being driven mostly...

03 March 2005

Viking dreams

In case you haven't heard, Icelandair has just joined the 787 Dreamliner family. Over the weekend they announced a firm order for two of our new airplanes. It's inspired me to come up with some warm words for our...

25 February 2005

Luck 'o the Irish

St. Patrick's Day may still be a couple of weeks away, but we've already found our four leaf clover - some really fantastic news coming out of one of the world's leading low-cost airlines. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary...

23 February 2005

Talking airplanes with Peter Jennings in Renton

Last week we had a wonderful opportunity. ABC World News Tonight, one of the top television news programs in the U.S., sent its anchorman, Peter Jennings, to Seattle for a couple of days of live broadcasts. For a report...

18 February 2005

The Worldliner on a roll

On Tuesday, we held a small party for about 5,000 of our closest friends - employees, airline representatives, suppliers, international media, government and community leaders - at the plant up in Everett, WA. I guess you could call it...

14 February 2005

Going the Distance

Today I'm delivering a Valentine to the newest member of the 777 family, the 777-200LR (Longer Range). The first 777-200LR rolls into the paint hangar for a new look. The new airplane makes its debut on Tuesday, February 15,...

11 February 2005

Advancing the "Queen of the Skies"

One of the big questions I hear on the street these days is: What's happening with the 747 program? It's a fair question. The 747 is an awesome flying machine. They don't call her the Queen of the Skies...

04 February 2005

737NG: The Next Generation for Japan and the world

Woke up to some really terrific news this morning. Japan Airlines (JAL) has decided to introduce the Boeing 737NG (Next Generation) airplane to its domestic network. This is a great day for us and for JAL's passengers. It's really...

02 February 2005

787, China, and the next 20 years of flying

Well, there was big news while I was on the road last week. Great news from China, and a new name for a new airplane. Our new airplane is now the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It's a plane designed with...

27 January 2005

Buzz in the blogosphere

Who ever knew that the musings of an airplane marketeer could set off such a buzz in the blogosphere? Turns out, since I started rambling in cyberspace, this page has gotten quite a bit of attention. I think it’s...

20 January 2005

After the unveiling

What a week — I’m sure the folks who put on the big event in Toulouse are relieved that it has finally happened. It was quite a show from what I have seen, and I’m sure a good time...

18 January 2005

The A380 rolls out

Today is a blue shirt and red tie day. I’m doing some TV interviews on what Boeing thinks of the A380 on the day of the big unveiling event. And in the days leading up to it, I have...

17 January 2005

Seattle

Happy New Year, and welcome to my new web journal. Talk about a new year’s resolution - I’m starting the year by entering the internet, and I’m looking forward to it. I hope it will help solve one of...