A Big Day For The Biggest Boeings... And Their Building
Monday was a big day for the biggest Boeing planes... and the
big building where they're built (say that fast three times --
Ed.) The American planemaker delivered its
3,000th widebody airplane from its Everett, WA site. The airplane
was a 777-200ER (Extended Range) model that was delivered to Korean
Air.
The 3,000 airplanes built and delivered from the Boeing Everett
factory include 747, 767 and 777 models. The site -- completed in
1968, to assemble the 747 -- is celebrating its 40th anniversary
this year.
"We are honored to receive the 3,000th airplane assembled at the
Everett plant," said J.H. Lee, president and COO, Korean Air.
"Boeing Everett employees have made high-quality, reliable
airplanes that have played a critical role in the success of our
airline."
The 3,000th airplane is joining the Korean Air fleet of 123
airplanes, which includes 13 777-200ERs, four 777-300s, 24 747-400s
and 21 747-400 Freighters. Korean Air plans to use the new 777 for
long-haul business routes to the Americas, Europe and the Middle
East.
"This Korean Air 777 exemplifies the amazing accomplishments
that have taken place at this factory over the past 40 years," said
Ross R. Bogue, vice president and general manager, 747/767/777
Programs and Everett site. "This milestone is a tribute to the hard
work and dedication of our Boeing employees, suppliers and the
community. Our focus on the customer enables us to produce
airplanes that provide the highest levels of safety, quality,
reliability and value."
Over the years, the 3,000 widebody airplanes assembled at the
Everett site have established a strong track record. Combined, the
747, 767 and 777 have completed more than 34.5 million flights
through June 2007, and have logged approximately 148 million flight
hours -- nearly 17,000 years of flight time.
"We can all take great pride in the achievements these airplanes
have made and continue to make," Bogue said. "The Boeing 747, 767
and 777 are amazing airplanes with an unparalleled record of
reliability, which is illustrated by the number of Boeing widebody
airplanes in service today."
Currently, more than 80 percent of the airplanes built at the
Everett site -- approximately 2,610 airplanes -- are in service
around the world.
The 3,000th-delivery milestone comes nine years after the
Everett site celebrated its 2,000th delivery -- a 747-400 taken by
British Airways on May 15, 1998. The plant's 1,000th widebody
delivery was a 767-300ER delivered to Scandinavian Airlines on
August 14, 1989.
According to Boeing, the Everett plant's main assembly building
-- which the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledges as the
largest building in the world by volume -- has grown over the years
to enclose 472 million cubic feet of space. Its footprint covers
98.3 acres.
When the original building was first completed, workers reported
seeing clouds forming inside the building, according to original
747 program manager Joe Sutter. Today, the facility serves as
Boeing's showcase plant.
(Note: Boeing added the DC-10 and MD-11
airplanes to its widebody family in the 1997 merger with McDonnell
Douglas. Deliveries of these widebody commercial airplanes totaled
586 when production ceased in 2000. Boeing points out, however,
these airplanes are not included in this milestone... since those
airplanes were not assembled at the Everett site. This is, perhaps,
a more charitable way of saying these were not Boeing-designed
aircraft.)