10 things employees might not know about Russia BY DAN RALEY t has 146 million inhabitants and spans one-seventh of the planet’s landmass. Twelve I different seas wash up against its coastline. Nine time zones intersect it. For Russia, connecting everyone within these far-reaching borders but also beyond them is a sizable need. For two and a half decades, Boeing has played an important role in advancing air travel from Moscow to Siberia and the outside world, supplying Russia and the nearby Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, with more than 400 commercial airplanes operated by 54 airlines. On a recent day at Boeing Field near Seattle, for example, a newly built orange, blue and silver Aeroflot 737-800 taxied to the runway to begin the long journey to Russia, but not before passing freshly painted jetliners awaiting delivery to Turkmenistan Airlines and Belavia Belarusian Airlines. This busy exchange could be repeated over and over as future demand strains to keep up with projected growth for the region—Russia and its neighbors are expected to add 1,170 new airplanes valued at $140 billion to their respective commercial fleets over the next two decades, according to the Boeing 20 | BOEING FRONTIERS 1 Russia gave world travel a boost by opening its polar routes. — Since 2000, Russia has allowed outside airlines to use its airspace, enabling international flights to cross its polar region—which greatly reduces travel time between major hubs in Asia and the United States and Canada. Passengers previously had to stop in Europe or Japan to reach those destinations. As part of this, Boeing surveyed the sparsely populated Siberian region, identifying Russian airfields there that qualified as suitable alternative airports. The availability of the Russian polar routes also has proved essential for the sale of Boeing’s 777 Longer Range and Extended Range models, 787 Dreamliner, and the coming 777X, according to Sergey Kravchenko, Boeing Russia/CIS president. “The opening of the polar routes has played a critical role in our global business,” Kravchenko said. Current Market Outlook. Airplane sales, however, are only part of a Boeing-Russia affinity. The two share in space exploration, aviation engineering, information technology, titanium parts production and new alloys development, a design center, a flight training center, and more. They have formed an international partnership as diverse as any. “Russia obviously has a great deal of resources—human resources, a strong suite of natural resources and great technology,” said Marc Allen, Boeing International president. “It’s got a sizable economy that continues to generate sustained airplane demand. And it has been an important global player in aerospace productivity, helping us lower costs and win the market competition. “It has taken us a lot of study and real investment over the past two decades to build our productivity model in Russia. Today, it is a model we are replicating in other environments, as we build capability and presence to remain the most competitive aerospace company in the industry.” Following are 10 things Boeing employees might not know about Russia and the aerospace ecosystem to which it is home.
Frontiers November 2016 Issue
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