Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Receive Aviation’s Highest Award

CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — “I’m amazed that Boeing is doing this for me just because of some pictures I posted to the Boeing Store’s Facebook page.”

This weekend, Dr. Jeremy Hampton, an aviation enthusiast and amateur photographer who is also an emergency medicine specialist at Kansas City’s Truman Medical Center and assistant professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Pharmacy, will be Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) guest at the debut of the newest 747 passenger plane, the 747-8 Intercontinental.

Dr. Hampton came to Boeing’s attention when he posted his photos on The Boeing Store’s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/boeingstore), where he was twice recognized for submitting the “Photo of the Week.”

“We are trying to find a few unique opportunities during each year for some of the more than 73,000 fans we have on our Facebook page to engage with Boeing,” said Director of Brand Management & Advertising Jim Newcomb. “Dr. Hampton’s enthusiasm for aviation is obvious in every photo and comment he has posted. It didn’t take us long to realize we had an opportunity with the roll out that was too good to pass up.”

Dr. Hampton’s trip will include stops at several Seattle-area locations at which he can photograph Boeing airplanes, a visit to the Future of Flight Museum in Everett, which is near the facility where Boeing builds the new 747-8, as well as the 787 Dreamliner and the 747, 767 and 777 airplanes, and access to the Feb. 13 roll-out event.

“There aren’t too many things that really can be called the opportunity of a lifetime but this is one of them,” Hampton said. “My heart has always been with aviation. I attend as many air shows as I can and I always bring my camera. It’s amazing. I have been thinking about it and talking about it since I got the call last week.”

Dr. Hampton’s “Photo of the Week” images can be seen at http://facebook.com/boeingstore and at http://finalapproachphotography.zenfolio.com/

The 747-8 Intercontinental is the newest member of the world’s favorite airplane family. It offers the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger airplane, while providing enhanced environmental performance. More information can be found at www.boeing.com/newairplane/747/. The 747-8 Intercontinental roll-out event will be unveiled in a live webcast on the site at 11 a.m. PST, Feb. 13.
The Boeing Store is Boeing’s retail subsidiary. It provides top-quality Boeing and aerospace-related gifts, toys and apparel to fans and employees around the world. In addition to Facebook it can be found at www.boeingstore.com.

SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2011 — Boeing and Air China today celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first Next-Generation 737-800 with the innovative Boeing Sky Interior. With this new addition in its fleet, Air China has become the first Chinese airline to operate the 737-800 with the new Boeing Sky Interior, offering passengers an enhanced onboard experience with larger stowage bins and sculpted sidewalls, a LED lighting system with cove lighting and curved architecture and more intuitive passenger service units.

Boeing Sky Interior is the latest in a series of improvements to the Next-Generation 737. The next to come will be a package of performance improvements that will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 2 percent – making the airplane a full 7 percent more efficient than the first Next-Generation 737s delivered. The performance improvements to the airframe and engine are in certification test, and will be phased into production between mid-2011 and early 2012.

To date, 60 customers have ordered the new interior for 1,689 airplanes.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 15 — The commercial aviation industry will require 466,650 pilots and 596,500 maintenance personnel over the next 20 years to accommodate the strong demand for new and replacement aircraft, according to a crew assessment forecast from Boeing. Airlines will need an average of 23,300 new pilots and 30,000 new maintenance personnel per year from 2010 to 2029.

The crew assessment forecast is based on Boeing’s Current Market Outlook, widely regarded as the most comprehensive and respected analysis of the commercial aviation market. “When you add up all the numbers, you quickly understand the issues facing this industry,” said Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer, Boeing Training & Flight Services. “Our challenge is adapting our training to engage the future generation of people who will fly and maintain the more than 30,000 airplanes that will be delivered by 2029.”

The largest growth in both pilots and maintenance workers will be in the Asia-Pacific region with a requirement for 180,600 and 220,000 respectively. Within Asia, China will experience the greatest need for pilots and maintenance personnel — 70,600 and 96,400 respectively.

North America will need 97,350 pilots and 137,000 maintenance workers; Europe will need 94,800 pilots and 122,000 maintenance personnel; Africa will need 13,200 pilots and 15,000 maintenance personnel; the Middle East will need 32,700 pilots and 44,500 maintenance personnel; Latin America will need 37,000 pilots and 44,000 maintenance personnel; and the CIS will need 11,000 pilots and 14,000 maintenance personnel.

“To accommodate this growing demand, it will be vital to match training with the learning styles of students to come,” Ganzarski said. During the recent Asia Pacific Aviation Training Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Ganzarski called for changes to current training methodologies. “As an industry, we need to adapt to the learning styles of tomorrow’s technologically savvy pilots and mechanics, and ensuring that training is globally accessible, adaptable to individual needs and competency-based.”