Photos: (Far left) A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for China Southern. boeinG (Below) Air China’s first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental was delivered last year. Tim stake/boeinG Febrau ry 2015 45 have frequent engagement at all levels and have open communication with suppliers,” he said. “It will enhance relationships, which will translate to better quality, schedule and cost performance.” Since 1992, Boeing has provided training to more than 50,000 Chinese aviation professionals, and Hill called Boeing’s leadership in that area a differentiator. “China wants to develop its people, wants to develop everybody from leaders to managers to technicians, maintenance people and pilots,” Hill said. “We’ve done it so well for so long in China the Chinese government looks to that as something that is uniquely beneficial in partnering with Boeing.” Although a significant partner today, China also is a potential competitor, with Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) developing the C919, a singleaisle airplane that will compete with the 737. However, Thomas stressed that Boeing is comfortable with that dichotomy. “Compete and collaborate is the new mantra,” he said. “As a global enterprise, we welcome and we respect competition. It makes us a better company. It will make us a better competitor here in China; it will make us a better global competitor. And certainly we’re not going to sit still—we’re going to out-innovate all comers.” At the same time, Boeing and COMAC work together in key research areas and recently opened a demonstration facility in Hangzhou that will turn waste cooking oil into biofuels. Other projects are focused on air traffic management, given China’s already congested airspace. Dong Yang Wu, managing director of Boeing Research & Technology–China, said the projects are important to enabling future fleet growth. As she put it, “We can make the best aircraft, but we need a vibrant market and a healthy market for us to sell the aircraft in.” Looking to that future market, Mounir emphasized the interconnectedness of safety, efficiency and capacity, and fuelefficient jets such as Boeing’s 787 and 737 MAX to help China accommodate its passenger growth. “That will drive a lot of value for our customers, especially for the many startup airlines we are seeing in the marketplace,” Mounir said. “The overall impact will positively benefit many of our stakeholders in the industry and will ultimately allow us over time to place all of these thousands of airplanes that we want to place in the market.” n ashley.s.johnson@boeing.com
Frontiers February 2015 Issue
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