Our guest speaker on Friday, February 9th was Rich White Senior Manager Government Relations for the Boeing Company. This is Rich's third visit to our Club with past visits on November 2017 and 2020. Rich started his presentation with an apology for the door plug issue which Boeing has conveyed to Alaska Airlines and passengers while giving the crew a sincere congratulations for their professionalism in handling the return to the airport.
Boeing started in 1916 by Bill Boeing launched the new airline out of the Red Barn in Seattle. Bill Boeing started in the timber business in Hoquiam, WA with assistance from George Weyerhaeuser. Boeing is a 107 year old company and the day of our meeting was the anniversary of the first flight of the Boeing 747 out of Paine Field.
Rich commented that passenger market is nearing pre-covid levels and that single-aisle aircraft are returning to growth while the wide-body recovery is around 85%. Otherwise the wide-body is still in recovery mode. Airlines will need 42,595 new airplanes over the next 20 years. Service life of an airplane is approximately 25 years.
The Everett plant produces the wide body airplanes while Renton produces the 737. Boeing donated $50 million dollars in 2022 to Washington community organizations. In 1917 Boeing's first charitable contribution was made to the University of Washington for the Wind Tunnel. Versatility is the key to future aircraft market needs. There are 67,000+ employees and over 1,000 suppliers in Washington. The Everett site has 33,000 employees.