Boeing

A senior Boeing executive said that today's urgent needs of the commercial aviation industry are at the core of The Boeing Company's plan for the 21st century. Seddik Belyamani, executive vice president, Boeing Commercial Airplanes spoke at The Economist Global Airlines Conference.

"Our worldwide commercial airplane customer base is challenged to succeed in the 21st century," said Belyamani. "Boeing is listening hard to our customers, deploying the resources of the entire company and applying extraordinary intellectual capital to this critical task."

Acknowledging that Boeing has been at the heart of the aerospace industry from its beginning, Belyamani said that now is the time to start thinking of Boeing Commercial Airplanes as not just an aircraft manufacturer, but as a "total customer solutions" provider.

"Today, and increasingly in the years ahead, industry leadership means more than just supplying airplanes," Belyamani added. "The Boeing strategy is to offer customers total solutions for the dynamic, complex air travel marketplace. This is the critical path for the successful manufacturer in the years ahead. This is the role that the aircraft products and services provider of the 21st century must play if our industry is to continue to grow and be successful."

In his speech to more than 100 aviation industry executives, Belyamani pointed to "open skies," the information technology explosion, global alliances, e-commerce, passenger expectations, infrastructure issues, safety and the environment as major forces that will shape the industry's future. He said the world fleet of commercial jets has tripled in the last 20 years to nearly 13,000 airplanes.

"Boeing expects the fleet to double again over the next 20 years. The number of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) served in 1980 was 1.25 trillion; today it's more than two-and-a-half times that-nearly 3.2 trillion; and in 20 years we see this measure multiplying to over 8 trillion passenger-kilometers," he said.

Belyamani indicated that Boeing has streamlined the company's organization to meet the urgent demands of the 21st century market.

"As the manufacturer of approximately 80% of the world's jetliner fleet, we are in the unique position to bring value to our airline customers, through a comprehensive, integrated array of products and services to support the entire airline operation," he noted. "This has meant reshaping our company--becoming more nimble--and redefining who we are. Offering total solutions requires expanding our industry-leading product family. We're expanding the aviation services we offer. We're aggressively looking to information technology for new ways of meeting conventional requirements. And strategic investments are expanding both our resource base and the kinds of services and products we can offer."

Boeing recently announced a wide array of new products including the new longer range 777s, advanced winglet technology, and innovations in cabin design. Boeing has also announced new and expanded commercial aviation services including a Rapid Response Center and new offerings in engineering, modifications and maintenance services.

Last week, Boeing launched a new Web site, called myboeingfleet.com, as a single source of online maintenance, engineering and flight operations data for employees. The password-protected Web site consolidates the company's current online offerings -- Boeing Digital, Web BOLD and Flight Technical Services Online -- and serves as a platform for new and expanded airline support services.

In addition, within the past six weeks, Boeing has made two other major announcements concerning information technology and e-commerce. The world's first and largest online aerospace and defense global trading exchange is a joint effort with BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Commerce One. Boeing also announced plans to develop Connexion by Boeing^TM, a global communications network that will provide travelers with an unparalleled array of high-speed data communication services via a space-based network. Air travelers will be able to access the Internet, e-mail, television, news and information in real time at 40,000 feet.