Despite the state's investment, the 7E7 is just another concept, aptly named the Dreamliner. Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Alan Mulally is fired up at the prospect, but he has to prove the plane's economics to the board of directors and convince them it is viable on balance with the planes of Boeing's creative challenger, Airbus. The board then must assure itself that airlines, investors, and the public will ride along.
Boeing is hardly reluctant to leave new jets parked on the drawing board, even when well into development. It most recently scrapped the high-speed Sonic Cruiser, despite the buzz that it was destined for production. The 7E7 seems a plane of destiny, but there are always blueprints vying for life at Boeing. A leaner, meaner corporation has learned not to overindulge, or suffer the heartbreak of another supersonic transport.
Boeing
The 737 assembly line in Renton could be moving to Everettwhether theres a 7E7 or not.
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Coming up with the right new model is more critical than ever to feeding Boeing's ravenous and greatly diversified corporate appetite. To sustain its business, Boeing needs $1 billion worth of work every week to keep going, according to The Washington Post. As the current 7E7 campaign illustrates, the company is going to be asking for more U.S. taxpayer incentives while sending more work to cheaper foreign labor markets.
Whether or not the 7E7 gets assembled in Everett is now up to Chicago, today's headquarters of Bill Boeing's little plane business. Bill Boeing once threatened to moveto Californiaif local politicians didn't build a new airport. It is today known as Boeing Field, where Locke was making the latest payoff last week. At the time, most Boeing execs were off noodling in Paris, at the annual air show, sampling the wine and getting beat up by Airbus.
THAT PROMPTS US to ask Renton's economic developer, Pietsch, a dumb question. What if Boeing left and Airbus landed on their lakeshore? That aerospace consortium relies on government largesse, too. But it's European government largesse, which it could use to reinvent the 7.7 million square feet of factory space and the adjoining Renton Airport. And just this week The Wall Street Journal reported that Airbus would like to build planes in the U.S. so it can sell to the Pentagon.
Pietsch laughs. "Well," he says, "the property belongs to Boeing, and they'd have to decide whom they'll sell or lease to." He doesn't think Airbus would be the most likely customer.
OK. City officials have their post-Boeing plan rolling down the runway, anyway. A 17.5-acre mixed-use project, Southport, is already under development by Wright, Runstad & Co., next to the Boeing plant. It will include offices, residential buildings, and a luxury hotel. The city considers the project a microcosmic example of how the Boeing site could be redeveloped.
"Replacing all those lost aerospace jobs would be a great hurdle for us," Pietsch says. "But with thoughtful planning and a concerted effort, we can create a whole new economic engine." No doubt about it, he says. There's life after Boeing.
randerson@seattleweekly.com
