In a recent blog post, I looked at an overview of plane manufacturer, Airbus. Today I take a look at another one of the world's top commercial aircraft manufacturers: Boeing. Boeing has headquarters in Virginia and designs, builds and delivers aircraft all over the world.
Boeing produces products for commercial, private and military aviation as well as space technology. This report will focus on the commercial aspect of Boeing. The things mentioned in this post are by no means everything about Boeing but are key elements I believe are important.
In 1916, William E. Boeing founded the Aero Products Company after he and a US Navy officer developed a single-engine, 2-seater plane. In 1917, it was renamed as the Boeing Company. The company built flying boats for the navy during the First World War. In the 1920s and 1930s the company sold trainers, pursuit planes, observation aircraft and torpedo planes to the US military.
In 1958, the 4-engine 707 first entered commercial service on a Pan Am transatlantic route. In 1981 the first twin-engine widebody, the 767 was developed and was followed by the 757 the next year. Both planes had a common flight deck which reduced costs for airlines while increasing productivity. The 777 was developed with several airlines to ensure market needs were met.
In 2003, Boeing began taking orders for 787 Dreamliners. These mid-range jets would match wide-body long-range planes with improved efficiency due to high bypass turbofan engines. Approximately half of the primary structure of the 787 including the fuselage and wings is made of carbon fibre and plastic composite materials. These materials are lighter than aluminium which is traditionally used in most aircraft.
The Boeing 707 is credited with inaugurating the jet age in commercial travel. The first production 707-120 conducted its first flight on 20th December 1957. The plane was certified the following September and introduced on 26th October 1958 with Pan American. A total of 856 units were built between 1956 and 1978.
Boeing has offered a number of aircraft over the years. The Boeing 737 (Next Generation) has more than 5,000 orders and is the fastest-selling Boeing aircraft. The 737 MAX has a 20% reduction in fuel use and emission. The 747 series had more than 100 customers and over 1500 aircraft delivered. The programme ended in 2023 when Atlas Air took delivery of a 747-8 Freighter. If you want to know more about the 747 programme, take a look at our blog by clicking the link below:
The 787 comes in 3 variants: the -8, -9 and -10. The -8 variant is the shortest variant and has a range of 14,200km. The -10 has the highest capacity with a shorter range of 11,910km. The 777X is soon to be certified but is the largest, most fuel-efficient, twin-engine jet with a 10% lower fuel use.
While the 737 is the best-selling Boeing aircraft the MAX variants were grounded due to 2 crashes. Lion Air Flight 610 (29th October 2018) and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (10th March 2019) resulted in 346 deaths. On 13th March 2019, the FAA grounded all MAX aircraft. Much of the rest of the world also grounded MAX aircraft. The MCAS (Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System) was linked to both crashes. MCAS works by taking readings from sensors that determine how much the aircraft nose is pointing up or down relative to the oncoming airflow. When MCAS detects that the nose of the plane is pointing up at a dangerous angle it can automatically push down the nose of the plane to prevent it from stalling. The MCAS system is unique to the MAX jets. The MCAS sensors on the planes that crashed only relied on data from one sensor. These sensors can malfunction which happened in the case of the crashes. MAX aircraft have now been updated so data is taken from two sensors.
The 737 MAX problems are not the only problems Boeing has faced. The company has also had 787 fuselage problems. Flaws were discovered in the carbon fibre fuselage sections. As a result, Dreamliner deliveries were suspended in May 2021 and resumed in August 2022. The delivery suspension lasted well over a year, highlighting the extent of the problem.
Boeing is currently working on the 777X project. Boeing states that the 777X will deliver 10% lower fuel use and emissions and 10% lower operating costs than competition.
Boeing is committed to sustainability. In 2012, Boeing started the ecoDemonstrater programme. The ecoDemonstrater is a 777-200ER that is used to test products to make aviation safer and more sustainable. They have tested more than 230 technologies with projects including: Water conservation systems and technologies to improve operational efficiency. Other projects focus on efficiency, additive manufacturing, SAF and enhanced vision system for pilots. Boeing states that it is
'Taking promising technologies out of the lab and testing them in an operational environment to solve real world challenges'.
Boeing has also reduced emissions by 15%-25% in each new generation of Boeing aircraft compared to previous generations. Boeing also claims that their aircraft are 90% recyclable by weight. Boeing also had a number of strategies for decarbonisation.
Fleet Renewal: New airplanes provide significant efficiency gains with each generation reducing fuel use and emissions by 15%-25%.
Operational Efficiency: The industry continues to collaborate on how to fly more efficiently. This can reduce emissions by about 8%.
Renewable Energy Transition: Renewable energies can help reduce lifecycle impacts on climate change by using SAF or green hydrogen.
Advanced Technology: Boeing incorporates the latest digital designs, test and production tools, propulsion and system technology and different power and energy solutions.
As of May 2023 15,646 Boeing 737 aircraft have been ordered and 11,431 delivered. In 2021, Boeing received 909 gross orders while delivering 340 planes.
Boeing has faced a lot of challenges in its past but hopefully these are all behind it now. At the same time it has also had great success with the 737 program. What do you think we can expect from Boeing in the future?
Let me know in the comments below or on the forum post.
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