Sees Increased 787 Output By 2009 Even As Lines Are Idle

Even with its airliner assembly lines currently idled by a machinists strike, Boeing is looking towards the future -- with plans already to increase production of an aircraft that hasn't even been fully assembled yet.

As reported in the Malaysian newspaper The Star, 787 program VP and general manager Mike Bair told Asia-Pacific journalists via teleconference Friday that Boeing is strongly considering raising production numbers of the new "Dreamliner" after 2009, just one year after the new medium-duty jet enters service.

“Total customer interest right now is almost 60 airlines, with about 850 airplanes," said Bair. "This is clearly a phenomenal market response to the 787 and we could not be more pleased."

Bair also hinted at "further proposal activities" for the Dreamliner, which is seen as the future standard-bearer for the storied US aircraft manufacturer. This could mean "at least 500 units of airplanes," according to Bair.

Asia is clearly the where Boeing is focusing most of its energies on at the moment, as airlines in that burgeoning market are expanding very quickly to meet increased demand. China alone reported 121 million trips last year.

It is widely rumored that Boeing even changed the aircraft's original designation of 7E7 in part due to the number "8" being regarded as lucky in China. Nearly all of the 195 confirmed orders that Boeing has received to date for the Dreamliner have been to Asian carriers.

Before production can be expanded, however, the lines must be producing in the first place.

Day Three of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers strike, that union's first against Boeing in ten years, saw production lines in three states idle while some of the over 18,000 picketing employees talked of taking loans out against their pension plans to cover long-term expenses.

As was reported earlier this week on ANN, the strike originated with a payment offer that was regarded as "an insulting, take-away, job-stealing offer" by Mark Blondin, president of District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Blondin made the comment to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.

Most -- if not all -- of the striking workers consider Boeing's offer to be especially weak, as the aircraft manufacturer is currently experiencing a boom period. Sales of its jets are at a four-year high, even as Boeing is locked in fierce competition with European rival Airbus for business in the global market.

The last time machinists went out on strike against Boeing was 1995 -- they were off the job for 69 days.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.iamaw.org