The fuel-efficient jet would be Boeing's first new plane project since 1990. It reportedly will be built near Seattle.
By Associated Press
Published December 16, 2003
CHICAGO - Boeing Co. remained close-mouthed Monday as its directors made the company's most critical decision on a new airplane program in years, with all signs continuing to point toward an initial go-ahead for the 7E7 Dreamliner.
While the board was wrapping up a two-day meeting in Chicago, company spokesmen reiterated that a formal announcement of the verdict wouldn't come before today and was planned for Seattle - the region that a team of Boeing executives reportedly has recommended as the 7E7 assembly site.
The fuel-efficient jet still wouldn't be formally launched until mid-2004 or enter the market before 2008. But offering it for sale would be an important landmark for a company that has been overtaken by Europe's Airbus in the airplane-manufacturing business it has long ruled.
Boeing spokesman Ken Mercer said the 11-member board convened Sunday at the company's headquarters and met again Monday, but he declined Monday afternoon to say anything else.
"If we do have news to share, it will be done out of Seattle," he said. "But there will be nothing sooner than" today.
Boeing has not approved an all-new airplane program since the 777 in 1990. Pressure to commit to the 7E7 has grown since the aerospace giant pulled away from launching the 747X and the Sonic Cruiser in the past three years, while Airbus was pulling even in the commercial airplane market.
Analysts say Boeing can ill afford to turn its back on yet another new plane - especially one that seems to have solid market potential. New CEO Harry Stonecipher, a veteran board member, seemed to signal similar thinking when he strongly endorsed the building of the 7E7 on his first day in the top post this month.
Preserving a formal announcement until a special employee gathering today in Seattle would provide a rare chance for the company and its core airplane workers to celebrate. Boeing has been battered by bad news since its move to Chicago in 2001, from the post-Sept. 11 drop-off in commercial aviation to a series of defense-contracting scandals. The recent firing of chief financial officer Mike Sears and resignation of CEO Phil Condit also made headlines.
Everett, Wash., located 25 miles north of Seattle, reportedly was picked for 7E7 assembly work by a Boeing selection team over Kinston, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Mobile, Ala., according to Seattle newspaper reports.
Further details about the plane and the assembly process are expected today, when Stonecipher is expected to appear along with commercial airplanes chief Alan Mulally.
In the meantime, the verdict was anxiously awaited Monday - not only at sites that bid on the 7E7 project but among Boeing workers.
In Moses Lake, Wash., which also has been bidding for the 7E7 plant, Albert Anderson said the important thing was that the airplane be assembled in the state of Washington - the heart of Boeing's airplane business since its founding 87 years ago.
"We're sitting here waiting to see what comes out of that board room in Chicago," said Anderson, of the Port of Moses Lake, which operates the former Air Force base in that town. "If it goes to Everett, we'd be happy."
Boeing's stock fell 17 cents to close at $39.20 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.
