Boeing Commercial Airplanes Operations Center
Leading the industry with around-the-clock customer service
Boeing Commercial Airplanes is always looking for ways to better serve its airline customers. In December 2005, leaders of the Boeing Commercial Aviation Services organization opened the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Operations Center in Seattle, Wash., to provide around-the-clock support to airline customers with technical issues requiring resolution within 24 hours.
Building upon the success of the Boeing Rapid Response Center, which was formed in 1999, the operations center assists airline customers with urgent technical problems, engineering issues and maintenance requirements 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It is dedicated to around-the-clock customer support of the current fleet of some 12,000 Boeing and Douglas airplanes.
Direct response to airline demand
The Boeing Commercial Airplanes Operations Center is a direct response to increasing airline demand for around-the-clock support.
Continued cost and performance pressures have changed many airlines' operating models. Some have greatly reduced the size of their engineering departments or moved to a virtual model where such support is provided by a third party.
At the same time, a stricter regulatory environment has emerged, producing an increasing reliance on airplane manufacturers to provide greater customer support and technical expertise.
The Boeing Commercial Airplanes Operations Center provides comprehensive airplane support services, including structures, systems and maintenance issues. With Boeing experts in flight operations, spare parts and maintenance engineering, the center supports customers with speed, ease and a positive attitude.
Similar to airline operations or control centers, Boeing staffs its center with a mix of engineering and technical experts to address any question, issue or problem whenever an airline calls for help.
Foundation of Commercial Airplanes business
The Operations Center is another demonstration of how superior customer support is the foundation of Boeing Commercial Airplanes business. Boeing has a proud 70-year history of leading the industry with innovative customer support. Today, Commercial Aviation Services sets the standard for delivering the fundamentals of aviation support -- spares, training, maintenance documents and technical advice -- and offers the broadest range of support products and services in the industry.
The origins of the Operations Center began July 16, 1999, when Boeing formed the Rapid Response Center, or RRC, to provide commercial airplane operators with an unprecedented level of support during nights, weekends and holidays. The RRC's off-hours capability supplemented the ongoing daytime support by the highly trained Boeing technical experts in Service Engineering, the organization responsible for working closely with operators around the globe to prevent in-service problems and resolve technical issues.
Boeing established the RRC as a comprehensive, one-stop source of information to assist airline customers with "airplane-on-ground," or AOG situations. These are instances when an airplane is unexpectedly removed from service due to a problem with its systems or structure. Most often, AOG situations involve a minor technical problem with a back-up system or minor structural damage. Boeing conservatively estimates that a one-to-two-hour AOG delay costs an airline $10,000 in downtime. Actual costs of such delays can run as high as $150,000, depending on airplane model and the airline.
While the company had always offered around-the-clock assistance to customers, the RRC reflected the first time it had assembled a broad team of technical experts, equipped with sophisticated databases, in one room. Boeing was the first commercial airplane manufacturer to offer customers this type of service.
The RRC ultimately grew to three locations -- Seattle and Everett, Wash., and Long Beach, Calif. -- linked by high-speed telecommunications and staffed by a dedicated group of technical specialists, including structures engineers, systems engineers, field service representatives, spares personnel and maintenance engineers.
During the RRC's first year of operation, it saved airlines an estimated $50 million by reducing the time it took to solve technical problems that caused AOG situations. Some 400 operators with nearly 5,000 AOGs were assisted by RRC staff during that first year of operation, with an average response time of an hour and a half to resolve the technical issue.
Comprehensive and integrated response
The Operations Center builds upon the success and experience of the RRC and Service Engineering, and delivers an even more comprehensive and integrated response to the world's airlines, specifically to provide around-the-clock support for technical difficulties needed in 24 hours or less. RRC services were transitioned into the Operations Center and the partnership with Service Engineering continues. Service Engineering maintains its primary responsibility for addressing complex airplane issues that require longer resolution times while partnering with the Operations Center in dealing with urgent requirements.
Center staff represents a diverse array of Boeing expertise to address both AOG situations as well as other urgent airline requirements.
The center, located in the Duwamish area of Seattle, accommodates:
- Up to six controllers, who are responsible for all incoming center work
- Up to six functional leads, representing structures, systems, spares and other disciplines
- Up to 18 positions for functional engineering representatives from throughout the Commercial Aviation Services organization.
In addition, the center features four multimedia-equipped work rooms for teams to gather regarding a specific airline issue and a multimedia-equipped executive conference room for customer briefings and other large-scale meeting requirements.
How the center works
When a customer contacts the Operations Center, a controller discusses and defines the problem. The controller then works with leads from structures, systems and material management to develop options to resolve the problem. Following this collaboration, the customer and controller reach a joint decision on the optimum solution.
In addition to the 20 to 22 Operations Center staff per shift, structures and systems engineering support also is available from throughout Boeing Commercial Airplanes as needed.
Operations Center staff members are located at the Duwamish (south Seattle) as well as at extensions in Everett, Wash., and Long Beach, Calif. Having this extended operation allows Boeing to tap into more broad-based expertise at key Boeing locations. The Long Beach and Everett extensions opened May 24 and June 23, 2006, respectively. Functional leads and controllers will remain collocated at the Duwamish-based Operations Center for the long term.
The new Operations Center provides one more example of the Boeing commitment to be No. 1 in customer support.
Operations Center Contact Details
Phone: 206-544-7500
Fax: 206-766-5682
E-mail: operationscenter@boeing.com
Mailing address: PO Box 3707, Mail code 2H-15
Seattle, WA 98124-2207