Randy's Journal

Gonna fly now

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:50:02 -0800

The first flight of the 747-8 Freighter is set for Monday, February 8, at 10 a.m. Seattle time.

We completed taxi tests on Saturday, the last functional test planned before the -8 flies. We're told that the airplane reached a top speed of 90 knots (103.5 mph, 166.6 kph) during the tests, with Chief Pilot Mark Feuerstein at the controls.

The 747-8 during taxi tests in Everett on Saturday.

We'll be making available a live Webcast of the takeoff and landing at this site. That site will be available 24 hours before the flight. You can check out more information about the first flight at Boeing.com and at newairplane.com.

I gotta feeling

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:30:19 -0800

SINGAPORE - I just finished up my 2nd Singapore Air Show. What a week! Things for me got started with the ATW (Air Transport World) awards. Air New Zealand took home the big prize, “Airline of the Year, and Air Tran Airways won the “Airline Market Leadership Award.” Perhaps the highlight of the ATW event was the amazing sight of Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe, up on stage taking part in a “haka,” the traditional Maori dance ceremony.

Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe (on the right in the foreground) does a haka at the ATW Awards in Singapore. Photo courtesy: Air Transport World

At my press briefing on Tuesday, I faced a crowd of more than 70 journalists from around the globe. Their questions hit upon virtually all aspects of the market and our business. Of particular interest was the 787 flight test program, the latest on the 747-8, the outlook for the Asian market, what’s new with China, the potential 737 re-engining and where we stand on future 777 development. I also addressed a few questions on the threat of sanctions over the U.S. government sales of weapons to Taiwan. I spent the later part of the week here with customers, analysts, investors and more media. Reflecting on the show and all the great conversations here, what’s very clear is that Boeing (and Airbus) will face some stiff new competition in the airplane and services markets. Of course for us specifically, this year will continue to be one in which all eyes are on the prize – two very important development programs and simultaneous flight test and certification as we move toward first deliveries of the 787 and 747-8. I’d also sum up that just as clearly the market is coming back. And you might say “I gotta feeling” that Asia will lead that recovery.

Heat of the moment

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:39:33 -0800

SINGAPORE - I delivered my media briefing here on Tuesday at a very hot, muggy and busy air show. A lot of the news coverage so far has focused on our outlook for the next couple of years - essentially that 2010 will be another year where we won't see a huge demand in terms of aircraft sales, but that we see this year as a year of recovery, with 2011 the year airlines return to profitability, and 2012 when we expect to see a rebound in demand. I also had the opportunity to "co-host" a segment on CNBC Asia's Squawk Box this week. As I mentioned on the show, Asia is the hot aviation market right now, and a region where we expect to see 30% to 35% of the future demand. As is often the case while I'm traveling, there's lots going on back home. So let me share a few photos. We've just unveiled the interior of ZA003, the 3rd 787 flight test airplane, and the one that is configured to test the passenger experience elements of the Dreamliner.

The interior of ZA003 includes 135 seats, as well as lavs and crew rests.

The third 787 flight test airplane will be used to test, analyze and certify the various elements of the interior, including lighting, lavatories, stowage bins, windows and galleys. It has a partial interior, shared, as you can see below, with flight test instrumentation racks and equipment as well as work stations for engineers.

Need I say that these are images of a real airplane interior now, not a mockup - an exciting glimpse into what the flying experience will be like, and another step toward certification and delivery of the 787. This is an airplane that's going to change the way we fly, not only for travelers here in Asia, but around the world. I can't wait.

GOL!!

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:31:20 -0800

SINGAPORE - I'm at the air show and getting ready for my press briefing here. There's a lot to talk about as always and I hope to fill you in as time permits. Meantime, Boeing reached a pretty neat milestone just recently, that I couldn’t pass up telling you about. Over the holiday break in December, at our Commercial Delivery Center at Boeing Field, two flight crews from Brazilian airline, GOL, boarded a pair of white and orange liveried Next-Generation 737-800s and jetted off to Brazil. Why was that a milestone? The first of those two airplanes to depart was the 3,133rd Next-Generation 737 produced. That means that with that airplane, we have produced more Next-Generation 737s than all of the earlier 737 models combined.

A record-making Next-Generation 737 departs for Brazil.

We reached this “goal” in record time. 737 employees broke this record for Next-Generation 737s in just 12 years. It took 32 years to produce the same number of 737-100s, -200s, -300s, -400s and -500s. And that’s just part of the story. When we delivered the very first Next-Generation 737, Boeing employees and suppliers embarked on a journey to continuously update this great airplane and produce it more efficiently. The result is that final assembly in Renton completes a 737 in just 10 days now, compared to 22 days earlier in the decade. Boeing produces 31 Next-Generation 737s a month – better than an airplane a day - including weekends and holidays. You’ve heard me say repeatedly that we are striving to always improve on the airplane we deliver to our customers – and we are still updating passenger comfort, and airplane performance and navigation. The Next-Generation 737 is lighter, consumes less fuel and releases fewer emissions. And it’s more economical to operate and maintain. For example, 737s delivered between September 2008 and September 2009 have had so few technical issues that passengers on these airplanes left the airport gate on time 99.8% of the time. That’s great news for GOL, and the other 120 operators who fly the Next-Generation 737.

Two GOL Next-Generation 737-800s being prepared for delivery in December. The two airplanes departed within minutes of each other.

In the next few years, passengers will enjoy the new 737 Boeing Sky Interior, including those who fly with GOL - a launch customer for the new interior. It's just one of several enhancements we announced last year, along with airframe and engine improvements that will reduce fuel consumption and emissions by a further 2%. As I mentioned to reporters and analysts last month in Europe, and will no doubt talk about here at the Singapore Air Show, we’re in the initial stages of assessing the viability of a “re-engine” program for the Next-Generation 737 as part of our normal, on-going product development efforts. Clearly this is a hot topic of discussion in our industry right now, but while our initial assessment indicates that we do have the flexibility to re-engine the Next-Generation 737, we haven’t yet made a decision to move forward. But getting back to the “goal” of this post, GOL also happens to be marking a big milestone, completing its ninth year of service this month. As GOL set out to make flying affordable for Brazilians, it increased its fleet size from six airplanes to 109! And they are all are Next-Generation 737s. By the way, last year GOL joined the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group and GOL’s airplanes are being equipped with a GPS landing system and vertical situation display to help make takeoffs and landings more efficient. Dare I say .. GOL!!

Great gig in the sky

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:07:12 -0800

I'm heading to Singapore, but before I leave for the air show, I wanted to point you to some great new material about 787 flight testing. Clearly the Dreamliner is the subject of intense interest right now. And many of you have been asking for some time whether Boeing plans to launch a site on the Web dedicated to updating progress with flight test. Well, this week we did just that, with a new 787 Dreamliner Flight Test site. There's a lot of great features on the site, including "Flight Test 101" and a way to track the paths of ZA001 and ZA002.

Click on the image above to go to the 787 flight test site and view the stall test video featuring Chief Pilot Mike Carriker.

With the launch of the new site, we're also giving a first look at "stall tests" on the Dreamliner. During the testing pilots reduce power to both engines and then recover normal flight speeds. We'll be doing many more of these stall tests as flight test progresses.

A couple of screen images from the video now posted on the 787 Dreamliner Flight Test site. During stall tests pilots slow the airplane down to the point where it actually shakes, resulting in 1.5 g-forces.

The testing went very well. As described in the video, it's a way to demonstrate that in the rare event a pilot encounters a stall during flight, the airplane reacts benignly and recovers smoothly. It's a great gig, and as Mike Carriker puts it, "great fun."

Alignment

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:05:21 -0800

Over the past several months I’ve been asked over and over again about the future development of the 777 and 737. It’s an understandable question in light of our new competition and the changing marketplace.

Today we got some answers, a realignment of our organization to better address these issues. As Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Jim Albaugh put it to employees today, we’re making these changes to enhance functional excellence and execution, and better position us for future growth.

The leadership announcement puts the focus on Boeing’s execution and performance and our long-term future. A big part of what you’ll take away from this is that we’re determined to develop a clear “vision and roadmap” for our single-aisle and twin-aisle market strategies.

In terms of defining our future product strategy, we have a new team in place:

Nicole Piasecki will lead a new BCA Business Development function responsible for the overall integration of strategic planning and analysis.
Mike Bair will lead a new group, Advanced 737 Product Development, responsible for planning the future of Boeing’s single-aisle airplane.
Lars Andersen, former 777 vice president and program manager, is returning as a senior consultant to lead Advanced 777 Product Development.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with, or for, Nicole, Mike and Lars over the years. I can tell you that this is a very strong and dynamic team that will make their mark on Boeing’s products going forward.

I worked closely with Lars Andersen on the 777 program, and had the unique experience of traveling with him on the world’s longest flight. One of the funny memories of working with Lars was the time I had dim sum with him in Hong Kong at a restaurant where we spoke no Chinese and no one else spoke any English! Lars has a strong relationship with our customers and deep understanding of their requirements - making him perfect for this job.

I’ve worked for Mike Bair twice. Once when I led product marketing and then in my role today. He’s worked in virtually every aspect of our business. And for several years he’s played a significant role in developing our product and services strategy.

I’ve had the longest relationship with Nicole Piasecki, going back to the mid-1990s. In fact, in my office I have a picture of our 1997 North America Sales team which we were both a part. She brings a new and fresh perspective to the development of our strategy.

So, with the appointment of Nicole, Mike and Lars, and the other appointments announced today, we’ve got the best possible team in place.

They'll be working to define our product strategy and to position Boeing for the extremely competitive global economy of today as well as the increasingly dynamic geopolitical realities of tomorrow.

Challenges and achievements

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:30:53 -0800

By now you’ve read about our 4th quarter and full year 2009 results. We’ve discussed here many times the challenges we faced over the past year. So I’m not going to tell you it was a totally successful year, from our point of view. But when you consider how we ended the year vs. how it began, no question in many ways Boeing had a good year. In other words, I think we ended up in better shape than we might have anticipated one year ago – when we faced an unprecedented market environment. After a lot of turbulence, we finished the year maybe even with a bit of a tail wind.

ZA002, the second Dreamliner, during flight testing over the snow-capped peaks of the Pacific Northwest.

In terms of financial results, those speak for themselves. The earnings for the quarter and full-year reflect the development program impacts we’ve talked about before. However in one sense we had a record year, with revenue of $68.3 billion, which is up 12% from a year ago. That’s a solid performance. So despite huge challenges, we also made tremendous progress. The Dreamliner is flying, and the first flight of the 747-8 is approaching. 2010 is going to be about successful flight test programs and first deliveries for both airplanes late in the year.

Two of the flight test 747-8 freighters are on the flight line in Everett as first flight nears.

Among the big stories of 2009 were our selection of North Charleston, South Carolina as the location for a second final assembly site for the 787, and the acquisition of sole ownership of Global Aeronautica. With our operations there now integrated, it will mean increased productivity for the 787 program and long-term competitiveness for Boeing. News of two big orders came at the end of the year: United Airlines’ selection of the 787 and Korean Air becoming the first Asian airline to order the 747-8 Intercontinental. Assembly of the passenger version of the 747-8 is set to begin mid-year 2010. We saw the most-ever deliveries of both Next-Generation 737s and 777s, and we saw the entry into service of the 777 Freighter. The 767 program continues to win orders and to deliver to our customers. This year the program reached a great milestone – 15 million flight cycles. Commercial Aviation Services marked a number of milestones, including the opening of a new two-bay hangar at Shanghai Pudong Airport for Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services as well as an agreement with China Cargo Airlines, making them the first airline in China to operate the Airplane Health Management (AHM) and Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) combination. Looking ahead, our 2010 delivery guidance is a little lower than 2009. We expect to deliver between 460 and 465 airplanes. This figure is a reflection of anticipated fewer twin-aisle deliveries this year, but does include the first 787s and 747-8s. As was summed up in our earnings call today, the global recession has most definitely affected our airline customers – with reduced air traffic growth and resulting capacity reductions. We think that ultimately traffic is going to come back, but it’s still going to take time for all of the other economic indicators that affect our industry to rebound significantly.

Visionary design

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:04:49 -0800

LONDON - I've been traveling this week, first to Dublin, then here in London and on to Warsaw. And I've been looking over your great comments to the recent post linking to our 747-8 Design Highlights site. Thank you for all those impressions and suggestion so far. Well, that was such a big hit, I thought I'd keep the momentum going and share the link to our 787 Dreamliner Design Highlights site.

Click on the image above to go to the 787 Design Highlights site.

If you haven't visited this site already, I think you'll really like it. One of my favorite features is the animation demonstrating the smoother ride you'll enjoy on the 787.

Initial airworthiness

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:06:03 -0800

We’ve reached our first 787 flight test milestone this week, completing what’s known as “initial airworthiness” testing. I imagine no one is happier about that than our flight test engineers. What this milestone means is a couple of things. It makes way for more Dreamliners to enter the flight test program, and more crew members (those flight test engineers) to take part in the flights.

We've logged nearly 60 flight hours on the 787 – combining both of the first 2 airplanes. We'll log more than 3,000 hours before completion.

Flight test airplanes operate with an experimental flight certificate, which limits the people onboard to those required for testing objectives. Until we proved the baseline performance of the 787, we kept the flight crew to a minimum – just the two pilots needed to operate the airplane. Since first flight one month ago today, the flight test engineers have had to be content sitting in our telemetry room and monitoring the airplane’s performance from there. From now on they can be on board the airplane, allowing more real-time interaction with the pilots and a deeper real-time analysis of the data generated by all of the monitors and sensors we’ve installed on the airplane. It’s times like this that make me wonder if I could go back to being a flight test engineer. But at this point in my career I don’t think I’d be welcome! Regardless, I’m ready for my first 787 flight. The Dreamliner has been performing as we expected and it certainly has been busy so far: * Number of flights: 15 * Hours flown: 59 hours, 15 minutes * Maximum altitude: 30,000 feet (9,144 m) * Maximum speed: Mach 0.65

To date, we’ve run initial stall tests and other dynamic maneuvers on the 787, as well as conducted an extensive check-out of the airplane's systems. Six different pilots have been behind the controls.

Looking ahead, the 787 team will continue to expand the flight envelope, to reach an altitude of more than 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and a speed of Mach 0.85. Following that we plan to push the airplane beyond expected operational conditions. In addition, we’re working to get the remaining 4 flight test airplanes in the air as we work through the process of certifying these airplanes. The next important step is called TIA - Type Inspection Authorization. Upon achieving TIA, the real certification testing begins.

747-8 interactive

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:59:14 -0800

We've just updated our newairplane site with an information-rich package called 747-8 Design Highlights.

Click on the image above to go to the 747-8 Design Highlights site.

On the site you can explore a number of interactive features, such as the passenger experience on the new 747-8 Intercontinental, the -8's economics and performance, the market leadership and efficiency of the -8 Freighter, details on the flight deck, wing and engines, environmentally progressive features, and a lot of other highlights of this new airplane. Let me know what you think.

On target

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:09:50 -0800

As has been my tradition these past couple of years, I just took a look back at our post from this time last January. Here’s what I said then:

I don’t think there’s any need to “sugar-coat” the outlook for 2009 and beyond. It’s going to be tough, challenging, difficult ..

I guess we just about nailed that one, huh? In that same post I hinted that 2009 would be one for the history books, and that it certainly was. On the positive side, we did achieve some of the significant milestones that were on the horizon for us one year ago – first delivery of the 777 Freighter, 787 first flight and commencement of flight test, and final assembly and factory completion of the 747-8 Freighter as that airplane gets ready for its first flight.

Into a gorgeous sunset for the 787 as flight tests continue into 2010.

In terms of year-end orders and deliveries, we’ve just released those numbers. You can take a look at the details here and here. For me, the key takeaways from our year-end 2009 numbers are that we met our delivery target for commercial airplanes and our core manufacturing business is running extremely well. During 2009 we delivered 481 airplanes to customers, which is within our announced guidance of 480 to 485 deliveries for 2009. And we retain a strong backlog of 3,375 airplanes. To no one’s surprise, the challenges of 2009 were reflected in our order totals. But we did have a strong year once again for the Next-Generation 737, and a significant order towards the end of the year for the 747-8 Intercontinental. I did some media interviews on Thursday, and when asked about the future by a number of reporters I told them couple of things. First, we don’t give guidance until we do our 4th quarter earnings later in the month. However, we do expect – as I’ve said before - 2010 will be a year of economic recovery, while 2011 will be a year in which airlines recover. Which means that in 2012 we should see an increase in airplane demand. On another issue, you may have noticed reflected on our orders Web site that our good customer ANA has opted to convert their 787-3 orders into other models. Simply put, getting aircraft into their hands for earlier delivery was a better solution for them. As a result there are no longer any 787-3 orders in the backlog. Going forward, we'll continue to assess the market viability of the -3. By the way, the ANA order conversion does not impact the overall 787 order count. As of January 7, the 787 Dreamliner has a total of 851 orders from 56 customers.

New year dreams

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:40:50 -0800

Welcome to 2010. I can't think of a better way to kick off the year than with some spectacular air-to-air photos of the continuing flight testing of the 787 Dreamliner since last month's first flight.

ZA001 bathed in sunset light over downtown Seattle. Click on the photo for a larger view of this great shot of the Dreamliner on a recent test flight.

Clearer skies over the Puget Sound area have certainly given us some remarkable photo ops during ongoing test flights.

As you probably know, a total of six Dreamliners will make up the flight test fleet. We plan to log more than 3,000 hours of flying time prior to certification.

Sleigh ride

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:17:06 -0800

It may not have involved a one-horse open sleigh, but 2009 was certainly quite a ride. The ups and downs for Commercial Airplanes and our industry this past year are well-publicized. For me, personally, I’ve traveled through the hills and valleys not only along with you here in the blog, but also while circling the globe.

Now you can put a bow on 2009 - the year ended on a high note with the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner.

In just the second half of this year my travels took me to Dubai for the air show, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam. I also journeyed to the Caribbean and South America. Yes, I do travel a lot. One interesting observation is that in terms of miles, I did just about as much traveling this year as I did in 2008, but my travel costs were down about 30%. It tells you that the travel industry definitely struggled this year in terms of yields. Traffic was down for business travelers, and fares were significantly lower. But those issues aside for the moment, as we end the year I'm recalling some great memories. A tango show in Buenos Aires, a rugby game in Wellington, the weekend market in Bangkok, and of course, all the food, such as Korean barbecue in Seoul, seafood in Sydney, and always seeking the best possible fish heads and chili dishes. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

A pair of Qantas A380s, with Sydney visible in the distance. Notice the three boarding bridges. Two for the lower deck and one for the upper deck. I still haven't had the opportunity to fly on the airplane.

The Beehive building, part of the New Zealand Parliament complex.

This dish was my chance to try what's acclaimed as the best Peking Duck in Beijing, at the "Made in China" restaurant.

And this was my fish head curry dish in Shenzhen.

I encountered a giant Godzilla monster in Tokyo's famed Ginza district.

Turns out that Godzilla wasn't such a giant after all.

A rugby match in Wellington during the Air New Zealand Cup 2009.

A moment along the waterfront in Trinidad.

I was fortunate enough to end the year at the ultimate "VIP event" - the Dreamliner's first flight.

As a finishing touch, I've gift wrapped for you a little walk around video I did in Dubai last month. It’s always fun to do these at the big air shows. Take a look.

Click above to view my video from Dubai 2009.

I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. For now, let’s look to a 2010 in which the economic recovery continues and airlines see increases in passenger and cargo traffic. And so, although it's been said many times, many ways, I wish you a happy holiday season and a great year ahead.

Three's company, four's a quad

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:09:04 -0800

This falls into the category of "Just had to share this." I hope you enjoy the photos.

We just delivered 4 Next-Generation 737-900ERs to Lion Air. A unique opportunity presented itself to photograph 3 of the 4 airplanes as they were prepped for delivery at Boeing Field in Seattle.

In your eyes

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:45:09 -0800

If you want to get a feel for the global impact of the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner you only have to take a look at some of the comments we’ve been getting to the Journal.

From Johannesburg, South Africa, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Medellin, Colombia, Hong Kong, Toulouse, Sydney, Wellington, Brazil, Pakistan, Norway, Ireland, Austria, India, Canada, the Philippines, Portugal and all across the U.S. including Everett and Renton - people from all over have been expressing their thoughts here on the Web.

Over the weekend we published this tribute to Boeing employees, the global team, our customers and the Puget Sound community. Click above to download the full 787 ad.

We’ve also received a lot of one-on-one or personal emails in the week since first flight. In your eyes, this is an event worth celebrating. We've seen a lot of “Way to go Boeing!” and “Thrilled to see the 787 fly!” messages coming in. And those are great.

But I wanted to share a few special messages that have come to us. One Japanese journalist who traveled to Seattle for first flight called the Dreamliner "a multinational work of art." That's got a nice ring to it.

From ANA, our launch customer, we heard this:

The aviation industry has long been waiting for the 787 to take to the blue sky and some day carry the dreams of people around the world. We look forward to the day when it will make its maiden commercial flight through the skies of Japan and on to the rest of the world. This is a moment when our hard work pays off and the dreams of everyone at last take flight.

And one aviation enthusiast sent a note to our Singapore office that had a touch of poetry to it, when he wrote that as the 787 "rolled down the runway, I could see the wings flex and begin to curve as we have seen in Boeing computer-generated images and in scale models. I knew immediately that this iconic plane is going to lift-off beautifully. The aviation game has changed!"

A nice shot - taken by one of my Marketing colleagues - of the Dreamliner's first landing, with chase planes in formation.

A banner celebrating first flight - posted in our Commercial Airplanes offices.

Here's a selection of some of the other correspondence we've gotten:

From Jerry, a public official on the Sioux Nation in South Dakota:

Your airplanes represent the entire economic and professional image of the United States. The introduction of the new Dreamliner comes at a time when a boost of proof-positive of our strength needs a shot in the arm.

Jerry suggested a future flight on the 787 featuring “a select group of young, bright, promising men and women interested in engineering achievement.” He also offered his young son, who hopes to become a pilot for the U.S. Air Force some day, as a candidate for the flight!

From Vimi, a manager at Air Seychelles:

It is heart swelling to see it fly!! It is such a fantastic aircraft. I really admire Boeing for what it stands… its people, its aircraft, its innovation. I am not a Boeing employee, yet am so proud of Boeing!

From Alfred, a consultant at the Institute of Management in Malawi, Africa:

This was a wonderful day not only for Boeing and all the members of staff who had built this great aircraft, but also for people like me who had waited for a long time to watch that historic flight.I actually had to postpone supper in order not to miss the great moment when the Dreamliner took to the skies. I have been a Boeing fan for over 30 years. If I had to choose fleet for an airline, it would be an all-Boeing fleet.

From Parviz, an educator in Azerbaijan:

Students of Azerbaijan National Academy of Aviation with impatience waited for this day. We with great pleasure shall spend lectures on the designs of Dreamliner! We wish you new successes in your sacred work!

From a gentleman in Botswana:

Since my childhood I have loved the aircrafts and I just settled with Boeing jets for their good looks and immaculate designs. I went to great heights to see myself flying in a Boeing jet and indeed I got a lifetime dream to hop into a 737. I always asked for the seat overlooking the engine just to marvel that machine at work. I traveled all the way from my rural village to South Africa in Johannesburg just to see the 747 come in and take off. I sure will be on my way to South Africa in the near future just to see the Dreamliner. Thank you for the state of art machine and I have it for a wallpaper on my PC and therefore pride myself as one of the ‘owners’ of a Dreamliner.

And from the folks at the competition:

Airbus salutes the people of Boeing on this important day in their history. The first flight of the 787 is a real achievement and it underscores the continual advancements in commercial aircraft that come about because of healthy competition. In that spirit of innovation-driving competition, we look forward to a continued robust rivalry with our own A350 XWB. But today is Boeing’s day, and – to the Boeing team – we say: "congratulations!"

Finally, some reaction here at Boeing - the video below is from an employee event we held in the atrium of one of the buildings on our Everett site the day after first flight.

Click above to watch excerpts from our Everett employee event.

I think this video really captures the feeling, as 787 Program vice president and general manager Scott Fancher thanks the team and introduces Chief Pilot Mike Carriker and Captain Randy Neville.

Check out the response at the end of the piece. As the office banner shown above says, making history isn't easy, but it's definitely worth it.