Special delivery When a commercial jetliner rolls out of a Boeing factory, just one stop remains before the airplane flies away—the site’s delivery center, where Boeing employees prepare the airplane for the handoff to the customer. Boeing has designed and recently completed state-of-the-art facilities at Everett, Wash., and North Charleston, S.C., to accommodate the stepped-up pace of widebody airplane deliveries. With their sweeping designs and expanded amenities, these new centers are among the crown jewels of Boeing facilities. The 180,000-square-foot (16,700- square-meter) Everett Delivery Center opened in April to replace a center built in the late 1960s. Every model assembled at Everett—747, 767, 777 18 BOEING FRONTIERS / DECEMBER 2013–JANUARY 2014 “Airline customers genuinely appreciate the amenities that have been incorporated into both delivery centers.” – Jack Callaghan, Everett Delivery Center project manager and 787—passes through it. Boeing South Carolina opened a 58,000- square-foot (5,400-square-meter) facility in November 2011 to deliver 787 Dreamliners built at the North Charleston site. More than simply gateways for an airplane’s entry into service, the centers are ambassadors for Boeing, providing opportunities to strengthen relationships with customers. “Airline customers genuinely appreciate the amenities that have been incorporated into both delivery centers,” said Jack Callaghan, who manages facility-related requirements at the Everett center and supported development at both sites. A case in point is JetStar, part of the Qantas group, which was at the Everett center this fall to take delivery of its first 787. PHOTO: Sweeping curves create an open, “embrace the plane” concept at the Everett Delivery Center. GAIL HANUSA/BOEING
Frontiers December 2013—January 2014 Issue
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