'The Boeing Company' (, ) is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Boeing. Its
international headquarters is in
Chicago,
Illinois,
USA. Boeing is the largest global
aircraft manufacturer by revenue, the second largest by deliveries and the second-largest
aerospace and defense contractor in the world.
[2]
Boeing has long been one of the world’s largest civil aircraft companies. In 2006, it took 55% of global commercial aircraft orders for the first time since 2000. The largest exporter in the United States, Boeing’s stock is a component of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average.
History
Before 1950s
Boeing was incorporated in
Seattle, Washington by
William E. Boeing, on
July 15,
1916, as the "Pacific Aero Products Co." following the
June 15 maiden flight of one of the two "B&W" seaplanes built with the assistance of
George Conrad Westervelt, a
U.S. Navy engineer. On
May 9,
1917, the company became the "Boeing Airplane Company". William E. Boeing had studied at
Yale University and worked initially in the
timber industry, where he became wealthy and acquired knowledge about
wooden structures. This knowledge would prove invaluable in his subsequent design and assembly of
airplanes.

Model of Boeing's first plane, the B&W at Future of Flight Museum shop
In 1927 Boeing created an airline named Boeing Air Transport, which merged a year later with
Pacific Air Transport and the Boeing Airplane Company. The company changed its name to United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1929 and acquired
Pratt & Whitney,
Hamilton Standard Propeller Company, and
Chance Vought. United Aircraft then purchased
National Air Transport in 1930. The
Air Mail Act of 1934 prohibited airlines and manufacturers from being under the same corporate umbrella, so the company split into three smaller companies - Boeing Airplane Company,
United Airlines, and
United Aircraft Corporation, the precursor to
United Technologies. As a result, William Boeing sold off his shares.

The Boeing 314 Clipper
Shortly after, an agreement with
Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was reached, to develop and build a commercial
flying boat able to carry passengers on transoceanic routes. The first flight of the
Boeing 314 Clipper was in June 1938. It was the largest civil aircraft of its time, with a capacity of 90 passengers on day flights, and of 40 passengers on night flights. One year later, the first regular passenger service from the US to the
UK was inaugurated. Subsequently other routes were opened, so that soon Pan Am flew with the Boeing 314 to destinations all over the world.
In 1938, Boeing completed work on the
Model 307 ''Stratoliner''. This was the world’s first pressurized-cabin transport aircraft, and it was capable of cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet. — above most weather disturbances.
_American_Overseas_1949-50.jpg)
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
During
World War II, Boeing built a huge number of
bombers. Many of the workers were women whose husbands had gone to war. In the beginning of March 1944, production had been scaled up in such a manner that over 350 planes were built each month. To prevent an attack from the air, the manufacturing plants had been covered with greenery and farmland items. During these years of war the leading aircraft companies of the US cooperated. The Boeing-designed
B-17 bomber was assembled also by
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and
Douglas Aircraft Co., while the
B-29 was assembled also by
Bell Aircraft Co. and by
Glenn L. Martin Company.
After the war, most orders of bombers were canceled and 70,000 people lost their jobs at Boeing. The company aimed to recover quickly by selling its
Stratocruiser, a luxurious four-engine commercial
airliner developed from the B-29. However, sales of this model were not as expected and Boeing had to seek other opportunities to overcome the situation. The company successfully sold military aircraft adapted for troop transportation and for
aerial refueling.
1950s

The Boeing 707
In the mid-1950s
technology had advanced significantly, which gave Boeing the opportunity to develop and manufacture totally new products. One of the first was the guided short-range
missile used to intercept enemy aircraft. By that time the
Cold War had become a fact of life, and Boeing used its short-range missile technology to develop and build an intercontinental missile.
In 1958, Boeing began delivery of its
707, the United States' first commercial
jet airliner, in response to the
British De Havilland Comet,
French Sud Aviation Caravelle and
Soviet Tupolev Tu-104, which were the world’s first generation of commercial jet aircraft. With the 707, a four-engine, 156-passenger airliner, the US became a leader in commercial jet manufacture. A few years later, Boeing added a second version of this aircraft, the 720, which was slightly faster and had a shorter
range. A few years later, Boeing introduced the
727, a commercial jet airliner of similar size but with three engines, designed for medium-range routes. The 727 was immediately well accepted as a comfortable and reliable aircraft by passengers, crews, and airlines. Although production was discontinued in 1984, at the turn of the millennium nearly 1,300 727s were still in service at airlines around the world.
1960s
Piasecki Helicopter, was acquired by Boeing in 1960, and was reorganized as Boeing's
Vertol division. The twin-rotor
CH-47 Chinook, produced by Vertol, took its first flight in 1961. This heavy-lift
helicopter remains a work-horse vehicle up to the present day. In 1964, Vertol also began production of the
CH-46 Sea Knight.

Boeing 737-300
In 1967, Boeing introduced another short- and medium-range airliner, the twin-engine
737. It has become since then the best-selling commercial jet aircraft in aviation history. The 737 is still being produced, and continuous improvements are made. Several versions have been developed, mainly to increase
seating capacity and range.
The roll-out ceremonies for the first
747-100 took place in 1968, at the massive new factory in
Everett, about an hour's drive from Boeing's Seattle home. The aircraft made its first flight a year later. The first commercial flight occurred in 1970. The 747 has an intercontinental range and a larger seating capacity than Boeing's previous aircraft.

The 707 and 747 formed the backbone of many major airline fleets through the end of the 1970s.
Boeing also developed
hydrofoils in the 1960s. The screw driven
USS ''High Point'' (PCH-1) was an experimental submarine hunter. The patrol hydrofoil
USS ''Tucumcari'' (PGH-2) was more successful. Only one was built, but it saw service in Vietnam and Europe before running aground in 1972. Its innovative waterjet and fully submersed flying foils were the model for the later Pegasus class patrol hydrofoils and Jetfoil ferries in the 1980s. The Tucumcari and later boats were produced in Renton. While the Navy hydrofoils were withdrawn by the end of the 1980s, the swift and smooth
Boeing Jetfoils are still in service in Asia.
1970s
In the beginning of the
1970s, Boeing faced a new crisis. The
Apollo program, in which Boeing had participated significantly during the preceding decade, was almost entirely canceled. Once more, Boeing hoped to compensate with sales of its commercial airliners. At that time, however, there was a heavy recession in the airlines industry so that Boeing did not receive one single order for more than one year. Boeing's bet for the future, the new
747, was delayed in
production and exceeded its estimated development budget. Another problem was that in 1971, the
U.S. Congress decided to stop the financial support for the development of the
supersonic 2707, Boeing's answer to the British-French
Concorde, forcing the company to discontinue the project. The company had to reduce the number of employees from over 80,000 to almost half, only in the Seattle area.
In January 1970, the first 747, a four-engine long-range airliner, flew its first commercial flight. This famous aircraft completely changed the way of flying, with its 450-passenger
seating capacity and its upper deck. Until 2001, Boeing had been the only aircraft manufacturer to offer such an airliner and has delivered nearly 1,400 units. (Airbus now offers the
A380, which when delivered will be the largest operational airliner). The 747 has undergone continuous improvements to keep it technologically up-to-date. Larger versions have also been developed by stretching the upper deck.

The narrowbody Boeing 757 replaced the 707 and 727
During the 1970s, Boeing also developed light rail vehicles which were used in San Francisco, Boston and Morgantown, WV. They were a limited success as different models would be chosen to replace them by the 2000s, although the
Morgantown, WV Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is still in active service at West Virginia University. Most of the Boston cars were decommissioned and destroyed by early 2007.
1980s
In 1983, the economic situation began to improve. Boeing assembled its 1,000th 737 passenger airliner. During the following years, commercial aircraft and their military versions became the basic equipment of airlines and air forces. As passenger air traffic increased, competition was harder, mainly from a
European newcomer in commercial airliner manufacturing, Airbus. Boeing had to offer new aircraft, and developed the single-aisle
757, the larger, twin-aisle
767, and upgraded versions of the 737. An important project of these years was the
Space Shuttle, to which Boeing contributed with its experience in space rockets acquired during the Apollo era. Boeing participated also with other products in the space program, and was the first contractor for the
International Space Station. At the same time, several military projects went into production, the Avenger air defense system and a new generation of short-range missiles. During these years, Boeing was very active upgrading existing military equipment and developing new ones.
1990s
In April 1994, Boeing introduced its most modern commercial jet aircraft, the twin-engine
777, with a
seating capacity of between 300 and 400 passengers in a standard three class layout, in between the 767 and the 747. The longest range twin-engined aircraft in the world, the 777 was the first Boeing airliner to feature a "
fly-by-wire" system and was conceived in response to the inroads being made by the European Airbus into Boeing’s traditional market. This aircraft reached an important milestone by being the first airliner to be designed entirely by using
CAD techniques. Also in the mid-1990s, the company developed the revamped version of the 737, known as the “Next-Generation 737â€, or 737NG. It has since become the fastest-selling version of the 737 in history, and on
April 20,
2006 sales passed those of the 'Classic 737', with a follow-up order for 79 aircraft from
Southwest Airlines. The “Next-Generation 737†line includes the 737-600, the 737-700, the 737-800, and the 737-900.
In 1996, Boeing acquired
Rockwell’s aerospace and defense units. The Rockwell products became a subsidiary of Boeing, named Boeing North American, Inc. In August of the next year, Boeing merged with
McDonnell Douglas to form The Boeing Company. Following the merger, the McDonnell Douglas MD-95 was renamed the
Boeing 717, and the production of the MD-11 was limited to the freighter version. Boeing introduced a new corporate identity with completion of the merger, incorporating the Boeing logo type and a stylized version of the McDonnell Douglas symbol, which was derived from the Douglas Aircraft logo from the 1970s.

Boeing's headquarters in Chicago
2000s
In September
2001, Boeing moved its corporate headquarters from
Seattle to
Chicago.
On
October 10 2001, Boeing lost to its rival
Lockheed Martin in the fierce competition for the multi-billion dollar
Joint Strike Fighter contract. Boeing’s entry, the
X-32, was rejected in favor of Lockheed’s
F-35 entrant.
Boeing continues to serve as the prime contractor on the International Space Station and has built several of the major components.
In recent years Boeing has faced an increasingly high
competition from Airbus, which offers some commonality between models (reducing maintenance and training costs) and the latest
fly-by-wire technology. From the 1970s Airbus has increased its family of aircraft to the point where they can now offer an aircraft in almost every class Boeing does. Indeed, Airbus is now competing in markets that Boeing once had a monopoly over, e.g. the
A320 has been selected by several
low-cost operators (the aircraft used by these airlines has traditionally been the 737) and the very large aircraft market, the
A380. The 747 has suffered by competing with Boeing's 777-300 model.
After several decades of numerous successes, Boeing lost ground to Airbus and subsequently lost its position as market leader in 2003. Multiple Boeing projects were pursued and then canceled. The
Sonic Cruiser is among these projects. The Boeing Sonic Cruiser was launched in 2001 along with a new
advertising campaign to promote its new motto, "Forever New Frontiers", and rehabilitate its image. Boeing is now focused on the newly-launched
787 Dreamliner as a platform of total fleet rejuvenation, which uses technology from the Sonic Cruiser concept. The result is that the 787 is the fastest selling
wide body airliner in history.
In 2004, Boeing ended production of the
757 after 1055 were produced. More advanced, stretched versions of the 737 were beginning to compete against the 757, and the new
787-3 will fill some of the top end of the 757 market. Also that year, Boeing announced that the
717, the last civil aircraft to be designed by McDonnell Douglas, would cease production in 2006. The 767 was in danger of cancellation as well, with the 787 replacing it, but recent orders for the freighter version have extended the program. If Boeing wins the contract for new USAF tankers, the 767 program will continue for years to come.
Recently, Boeing launched a new aircraft, the
787 Dreamliner, and five new variants of existing designs: ultra-long-range
777-200LR, 737-900ER, 737-700ER, 777 Freighter and 747-8. The 777-200LR has the longest range of any commercial aircraft and was first delivered in 2006. The 737-900ER and 737-700ER will extend the range of the -900 and -700 models. Due to rising fuel costs, the more efficient
twinjet 777 has been winning orders. The rapid success of the 787 has resulting in Airbus following suit with the competing
A350, though the latter still lags behind in development and orders. The
747-8 is a stretched version of the 747-400 and will offer improved efficiency and longer range. Following frequent delays to the
Airbus A380 program, some airlines stated they were considering switching their orders to the 747-8 instead.
[3]
In May 2005, Boeing announced its intent to form a joint venture,
United Launch Alliance with its competitor Lockheed Martin. The new venture will be the largest provider of rocket launch services to the US government. The joint venture gained regulatory approval and completed the formation on December 1, 2006.
[4]
On
August 2,
2005 Boeing sold its
Rocketdyne rocket engine division to
Pratt & Whitney.
On
May 1 2006, Boeing announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to purchase Dallas, Texas-based
Aviall, Inc. for $1.7 billion and retain $350 million in debt. Aviall, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Aviall Services, Inc. and ILS formed a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services (BCAS).
[1]
On
August 18,
2007, NASA announced that Boeing will be the prime contractor for the liquid-fueled second stage of the
Ares I rocket. The stage, based on both
Apollo-
Saturn and
Space Shuttle technologies, will be constructed at NASA's
Michoud Assembly Facility near
New Orleans, the same site where Boeing constructed the massive
S-IC stage of the
Saturn V rocket in the 1960's.
Unethical conduct
In May 2003, the
US Air Force announced it would lease 100
KC-767 tankers to replace the oldest 136 of its
KC-135s. The 10 year lease would give the USAF the option to purchase the aircraft at the end of the contract. In September 2003, responding to critics who argued that the lease was vastly more expensive than an outright purchase, the DOD announced a revised lease of 74 aircraft and purchase of 26.
In December 2003, the Pentagon announced the project was to be frozen while an investigation of allegations of corruption by one if its former procurement staffers,
Darleen Druyun (who had moved to Boeing in January) was begun. The fallout of this resulted in the resignation of Boeing
CEO Philip M. Condit and the termination of
CFO Michael M. Sears.
Harry Stonecipher, former McDonnell Douglas CEO and Boeing COO, replaced Condit on an interim basis.
Druyun pleaded guilty to inflating the price of the contract to favor her future employer and to passing information on the competing
Airbus A330 MRTT bid (from
EADS). In October 2004, she was sentenced to nine months in jail for corruption, fined $5,000, given three years of supervised release and 150 hours of community service.
In March 2005, the Boeing board forced
President and CEO Harry Stonecipher to resign. Boeing said an internal investigation revealed a "consensual" relationship between Stonecipher and a female executive that was "inconsistent with Boeing's Code of Conduct" and "would impair his ability to lead the company".
[5] James A. Bell served as interim CEO (in addition to his normal duties as Boeing’s
CFO) until the appointment of
Jim McNerney as the new
Chairman, President, and CEO on
June 30,
2005.
Industrial espionage
In June 2003, Lockheed Martin sued Boeing alleging that the company had resorted to
industrial espionage in 1998 to win the
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) competition. Lockheed alleged that the former employee Kenneth Branch, who went to work for
McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, passed 25,000 proprietary documents to his new employers. Lockheed argued that these documents allowed Boeing to win 21 of the 28 tendered military satellite launches.
In July 2003, Boeing was penalized, with the Pentagon stripping $1 billion worth of contracts away from the company and awarding them to Lockheed Martin. Furthermore, the company was forbidden to bid for rocket contracts for a twenty-month period which expired in March 2005.
In early September 2005, it was reported that Boeing was negotiating a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in which it would pay up to $500 million to cover this and the Darleen Druyun scandal.
[6]
Subsidy disputes
In October 2004, Boeing filed a complaint at the
World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming that
Airbus had violated a 1992 bilateral accord when it received what Boeing deems as “unfair†subsidies from several European governments. Airbus retaliated by filing another complaint, contesting that Boeing had also violated the accord when it received tax breaks from the U.S. Government. Moreover, the E.U. also complained that the investment subsidies from Japanese airlines violated the accord.
On
January 11 2005, Boeing and Airbus agreed that they would attempt to find a solution to the dispute outside of the WTO.
However, in June 2005, Boeing and the United States government reopened the trade dispute with the WTO, claiming that Airbus had received illegal subsidies from European governments. Airbus has also retaliated against Boeing, reopening the dispute and also accusing Boeing of receiving subsidies from the US government.
[7]
Recent product development
Boeing has recently achieved several consecutive successes, beginning with the formal launch of the 787 for delivery to
All Nippon Airways and
Air New Zealand. Rollout of the first
787 occurred on
July 8,
2007.
Boeing also received the launch contract from the
US Navy for the
P-8 Multimission Maritime Aircraft, an
anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft. Several orders for the
Wedgetail AEW&C airplanes are expected as well.
Boeing launched the
777 Freighter in May 2005 with an order from Air France. The freighter variant is based on the -200LR. Other customers include
FedEx,
Emirates, and
Air Atlanta Icelandic.
Boeing has achieved above projected orders for its 787 Dreamliner, outselling the rival
Airbus A350. A large blow to Airbus came as Emirates Airlines president Tim Clark stated that his airline must be convinced that the 250 to 290-seat A350 would not repeat the "misses" by Airbus in performance and delivery. Emirates has held off ordering either airplane as it tries to convince Boeing to build a larger version of the 787, the 787-10, which is the airline’s preferred option. Air Canada also dealt Airbus a blow by replacing its A330 and A340 fleet with 96 Boeing 777s and 787s.
Boeing officially announced in November 2005 that it would produce a larger variant of the 747, the 747-8, in two models, commencing with the Freighter model for two cargo carriers with firm orders for the aircraft. The second model, dubbed the Intercontinental, would be produced for passenger airlines that Boeing expected would place orders in the near future. Both models of the 747-8 would feature a lengthened fuselage, new, advanced engines and wings, and the incorporation of other technologies developed for the 787.
Boeing has also introduced new extended range versions of the 737. These include the 737-700ER and 737-900ER. The 737-900ER is the latest and will extend the range of the 737-900 to a similar range as the successful 737-800 with the capability to fly more passengers, due to the addition of two extra emergency exits.

The record-breaking 777-200LR Worldliner, presented at the
Paris Air Show 2005
The 777-200LR Worldliner embarked on a well-received global demonstration tour in the second half of 2005, showing off its capacity to fly farther than any other commercial aircraft. On
November 10 2005, the 777-200LR set a world record for the longest non-stop flight. The plane, which departed from Hong Kong traveling to London, took a longer route, which included flying over the U.S. It flew 11,664 nautical miles (21,601km) during its 22-hour 42-minute flight.
Realizing that increasing numbers of passengers have become reliant on their computers to stay in touch, Boeing introduced
Connexion by Boeing, a satellite based Internet connectivity service that promised air travelers unprecedented access to the World Wide Web. The company debuted the product to journalists in 2005, receiving generally favorable reviews. However, facing competition from cheaper options, such as cellular networks, it proved too difficult to sell to most airlines. In August 2006, after a short and unsuccessful search for a buyer for the business, Boeing chose to discontinue the service.
[8][9]
Future concepts
In May 2006, four concept designs being examined by Boeing were outlined in the
Seattle Times. Codenamed after the well-known
Muppets (the design team is known as the Green Team), the designs concentrated primarily on reducing fuel usage. All four designs illustrated rear-engine layouts.
★ "
Fozzie" employs open rotors and would offer a lower cruising speed.
★ "
Beaker" has very thin, long wings, with the ability to partially fold-up to facilitate easier taxiing.
★ "
Kermit Kruiser" has forward swept wings over which are positioned its engines, with the aim of lowering noise below due to the reflection of the exhaust signature upward.
★ "
Honeydew" with its delta wing design, resembles a marriage of the
flying wing concept and the traditional tube fuselage.
As with most concepts, these designs are only in the exploratory stage intended to help Boeing evaluate the potentials of such radical technologies.
[10]
Environmental record
Researchers at the
University of Massachusetts have listed Boeing as the thirteenth-largest corporate producer of
air pollution in the United States.
[11] According to the
Center for Public Integrity, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency has linked Boeing to more than twenty
Superfund toxic waste sites.
[12] In
2006, the
UCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction released a study showing that Boeing's
Santa Susana Field Laboratory in
Ventura,
California had been contaminated with toxic and
radioactive waste. The study found that
air,
soil,
groundwater, and surface water at the site all contained
radionuclides, toxic metals, and
dioxins; air and water additionally contained
perchlorate,
TCE, and
hydrazines, while water showed the presence of
PCBs as well.
[13]
Divisions
The two largest divisions are Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the Integrated Defense Systems. Integrated Defense Systems is Boeing's space and defense division.
★
Boeing Australia, Ltd.
★
Boeing Capital
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Boeing Commercial Airplanes
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★ Airplane Programs
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★ 787 Program
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★ Commercial Aviation Services
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★ BCA subsidiaries:
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Aeroinfo Systems
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Alteon Training, formerly FlightSafetyBoeing
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Aviall, Inc.
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Aviation Partners Boeing, a 50/50 joint venture with
Aviation Partners Inc.
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★
★
Continental Datagraphics
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★
★
Jeppesen, formerly Jeppesen Sanderson.
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★
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Preston Aviation Solutions
★
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
★
★ Advanced Systems
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★ Network & Space Systems
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★
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Boeing Satellite Development Center, formerly a unit of
Hughes Electronics
★
★
★ Boeing Defence UK, Ltd.
★
★ Precision Engagement & Mobility Systems
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★ Support Systems
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★ Joint Ventures
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Sea Launch (40% Boeing)
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United Launch Alliance (with Lockheed Martin)
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United Space Alliance (with Lockheed Martin)
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Phantom Works
★
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Intellectual Property Management
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Corporate Engineering & Technology
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Boeing Shared Services Group
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Information Technology
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Boeing Realty
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Boeing Travel Management Company
Employment Numbers
Corporate governance
See also
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Boeing Aircraft Holding Company
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Boeing Canada Technology
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Boeing hydrofoils
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Boeing Everett Factory
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Boeing Renton Factory
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Lockheed Martin
★
Northrop Grumman
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Vertol
★
Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour Corporate public museum
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Santa Susana Field Laboratory
References
★ Greider, William (1997), ''One World, Ready or Not'', Penguin Press, ISBN 0-7139-9211-5
1. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data
2. ""Defense News Top 100" (2006 data)." ''Defense News''.
3. Airbus will lose €4.8bn because of A380 delays David Robertson
4. Boeing and Lockheed Martin Complete United Launch Alliance Transaction (news release)
5. Boeing CEO Stonecipher Resigns press release
6. Boeing, DOJ may reach settlement
7. Industrial Subsidies and the Politics of World Trade: The Case of the Boeing 7e7
8. Boeing exits in-flight broadband
9. Boeing to Discontinue Connexion by Boeing Service (news release)
10. Clean engines, wings that fold: Boeing dreams of futuristic jets Dominic Gates
11. Political Economy Research Institute, The Toxic 100
12. Center for Public Integrity
13. Center for Environmental Risk Reduction, UCLA
External links
★
The Boeing Company
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★
Boeing order sheet, year-to-date
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Offical site for Boeing's new airplanes
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Boeing moves headquarters, press release, May 10, 2001
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Boeing’s Triumph: The American Jetliner
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Yahoo! - The Boeing Company Company Profile
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Transcripts of The Boeing Company's Quarterly Conference Calls
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Boeing and WTO
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BBC Q&A: Boeing and Airbus
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Complete production list starting with Model 1
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Boeing page on DesignNews.com