Boeing is to resume aircraft construction at Puget Sound after suspending operations last month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Puget Sound area includes facilities where the 737 based P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft for the UK and other nations are being produced.
“The health and safety of our employees, their families and communities is our shared priority,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and senior executive in the Pacific Northwest.
“This phased approach ensures we have a reliable supply base, our personal protective equipment is readily available and we have all of the necessary safety measures in place to resume essential work for our customers.”
Boeing had already restarted most defence production operations in the region with approximately 2,500 people.
“Employees in the Puget Sound for the 737, 747, 767 and 777 will return as early as third shift on April 20 with most returning to work by April 21. Employees for the 787 program will return as early as third shift April 23, with most returning to work by April 24.”
If there is going to be a large and long-lasting drop in commercial aviation then will the resumption of production actually be needed? Will airlines be able to afford to buy new planes?
I would suspect that making spares and fulfilling military orders might be a better bet for Boeing – might that mean deliveries being faster/sooner?
Great, we need these planes ASAP, it was criminal leaving the UK a nation with nuclear Balistic missiles without this capability! We need more than dam 9 also and the government know we do! I’m sick of the half arsed orders we seem to always get these days….
Forgot to add “Submarines” after missile. Why get rid of the edit function!
The world is an incredibly dangerous place right now. The Chinese turning out strategic weaponry at lightning speed and both N Korea and Iran rapidly reaching nuclear capability. Trump’s efforts have failed! Add to that the greater instability caused by Covid and we have some real challenges ahead. At the same time, we’re adding 100s of billions of debt over the next few years. How is it paid for? For me, taxes will need to go up, no other way
They government probably got low interest loans and they’ll pay it off over many many years so no need for taxes to go up.
that doesn’t work. that approach will take decades and there will be strict austerity, much like the last 10 years. the correct approach is probably a combination of the 2 but with the tax burden falling on the correct parts of society.
Low interest is not no interest however. And our national debt was considerable even before COVID-19. Not to mention that large parts of the economy are going to be dormant for months to come. So the gap between income and expenditure will comtinue, adding to the debt and recession. Taxes will have to increase. Hopefully not just to individuals. Corporate tax should increase to 25% from 19%. It would still be less than most of Europe so we would remain competitive. What we really need to do though is not just raising or lowering of tax but to bring in… Read more »
We have survived for 10 years without any sovereign MPA, so is it really that urgent. have we lost any Trident subs? I am all very much for buying the P8, and it will give us a world beating MPA capability, but let’s keep a sense of reality.
You don’t lose a trident due to lack of MPA unless we are at war, like all things with subs it is the ability to track and trace that we have allowed to take place as a result of removing this capability.
I am sure our enemies know far more about our submarines now than they have at any point previously.. will this result in a loss in peacetime, no.
Will this result in a loss at the critical point, that is another thing entirely, Defence is not instant it is an insurance policy.
Defence has been seen as the least important priority by countless successive governments, and I suspect always will be! The public at large has no idea why we need such expensive kit, and merely see it as a vast expense, effectively giving the politicians all the ammo they need to keep cutting…. after all, you won’t see MPs or the public at large on the frontline will you?
Doesn’t happen often but Boris was toe to toe with Covid-19.
If things are going to change it will start happening soon. The country has been re-introduced to the word ‘Crisis’. If the Military hasn’t got its shopping list it will miss a golden opportunity.
I am a big advocate of defence, but you have to wonder where all the money goes. The USMC spends circa $26bn pa and is armed to the teeth we spend close to double and are nowhere near as well armed, even taking into consideration the cost of the navy and other areas outside of the USMC budget it is difficult to see why we are so under armed for such a well funded budget. It’s a pity we try to replicate the us on a smaller scale when we should be doing what we are good at and be… Read more »
We always want the very best but end up paying top dollar for not much, want 12 but get 6, would we do better to have more ships/planes but not always have the gold plated version