Our guest speaker on Friday, November 20th was Richard White, Senior Manager, State and Local Government Operations with The Boeing Company. The photo was taken three years ago when Rich visited our Club and gave an update on the history of the company. This past Friday, Rich gave an overview of the current market and the health crisis around the world which has shown a drop in air traffic worldwide by more than 73% compared to 2019. The domestic markets are leading the recovery with domestic travel at 12%. Rich provided details on the number of airlines worldwide flying with the results of each being at half full.
The 737 Max return to the skies will be huge in determining the economic recovery and Boeing is taking action to position it for the future. Navigating through the dynamic economic recovery and constantly requires assessing the business impact.
Airbus's wide body rates cut nearly in half. Boeing's 777 & 787 rates have been reduced as well. Rich talked about the decision to move the full 787 production facilities to South Carolina. Investment in Washington includes having the largest composite wing center in the world and the Auburn Workforce Readiness Center is important even in a downturn economy because it positions itself to have future workers available to replace upcoming employee retirements. Another important program mentioned was the Core Aerospace program which involves high school students preparing for the next generation of aerospace opportunities and giving these students hands-on experience.
Boeing is uniquely capable of supporting Covid-19 efforts by responding to the worldwide distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health care professions particularly in the United States and abroad. Rich told us that there are very few reports of transmission in the air traveler's journey of Covid-19 related issues. Several questions followed Rich's presentation from air flow in the aircraft cabin to pride in the students involved in the Core Aerospace program. Lake Stevens High School used to have a Core Aerospace program but the teacher overseeing that program has left the District and Ken Collins, the school district's Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, is hopeful to resume the program in the near future.