Boeing Co (BA.N) will be proved right with its controversial outsourcing of airplane production when its long-delayed Dreamliner takes to the skies this week, a top U.S. aerospace executive said on Monday.
Boeing has been criticized by customers and unions over its decision to send offshore the production of much of the revolutionary new jetliner, which is already two years behind schedule.
But Pratt & Whitney President David Hess said Boeing should stick to its guns for future projects.
“They might adjust a little in terms of the boundaries and how they define requirements for the suppliers and the scope of work,” Hess said, speaking at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington. “I still think they’ll take a similar approach — maybe not to the same level, but I still think they’ll take a similar approach.”
Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), is not making engines for the 787. But in his former role as vice president and general manager of Hamilton Sundstrand’s air management and power systems division, another United Technologies unit, Hess was much more closely connected to the 787 program.
Hamilton Sundstrand makes systems for the 787 that control cabin temperature, and electrical and auxiliary power.
“You really get emotionally invested in these programs,” Hess said. “You pour your life and soul into it.”
Boeing plans to test-fly the 787 Dreamliner as early as Tuesday, a flight that is two years overdue largely because of problems in the supply chain.
The revolutionary lightweight aircraft boasts greater fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs than comparable planes. It has a record number of orders on the books for a plane at its stage in development.
It also is the result of aggressive outsourcing, during which the Chicago company turned to its suppliers much earlier in the development process than usual to tap in to foreign ingenuity and cut costs.
Hess said he was flying from the East Coast to Seattle on Monday where he planned to attend the Dreamliner’s test flight on Tuesday.
“Obviously, it was a tough road for Boeing,” Hess said. “I think it still — to me — is a tremendous achievement.”
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BD4YP20091214
