Boeing Working To Catch Up On 800 Orders For The 787

With some 800 Dreamliners on the order books, Boeing has opened a temporary assembly line for the composite airliners at its Everett, WA, plant. The line is the second producing the airplane in the Puget Sound area, and the third for the company overall.

On his blog, Boeing Commercial Airplane marketing VP Randy Tinseth said the "surge line", will allow Boeing to roll 10 Dreamliners a month out of the doors by the end of next year. It is currently averaging 3.5 per month. He also said that it will help facilitate the introduction of the larger 787-9 into production next year.

Tinseth said the line is different from the company's other two assembly lines. "Instead of moving down the line in a nose-to-door configuration, airplanes will be staged in a slanted arrangement at Position 3," he wrote. "After completing interior installations, the airplane will move to Position 4 over on the original line. That’s because work in Position 4 can occur at a faster rate so we can accommodate airplanes from both the original line and the temporary surge line."

The third Dreamliner production line is in North Charleston, SC.

(Boeing photo by Gail Hanusa)

FMI: www.boeing.com