Boeing centennial celebration began in earnest yesterday. Expect it to go on for a while.
Alaska Airlines and 700 local business and government leaders gathered Thursday to celebrate Boeing’s 100th birthday at the Museum of Flight, unveiling a specially painted Alaska 737.
The new jet marks the 153rd Boeing 737 in Alaska’s all-Boeing fleet and features a Boeing logo with “100 years strong” painted on both sides of the fuselage.
“This, for all of us here, is personal,” said Brad Tilden, CEO of the Seattle-based air carrier. “Boeing is a fundamental part of the fabric of this community and we all are as well.”
The official birthday, the story notes, is July 15, with a big bash at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Another Times story suggests Washington state may be poised for more Boeing investment and employment.
Ahead of this month’s Farnborough air show near London, a media tour of Boeing’s Everett plant last week showcased assembly lines leaner and more productive than at any time in the past two decades.
And in detailed briefings, Boeing leaders — putting the nightmare of the 787’s birth behind them — talked about developing another all-new airplane.
They also hinted that the colossal new 777X wing center in Everett, which is rapidly filling with sophisticated robotic equipment, will be a vital part of the plan for that future jet — an encouraging sign for the region.
Definitely encouraging.
As we’ve written previously, the aerospace tax incentive packages passed by the Legislature in 2003 and 2013 were necessary and appropriate policies. And the billions of dollars of Boeing investments in the state, investments that anchor a dynamic aerospace cluster, prove the point.
