It’s a fundamental question for Washington state. Where will Boeing build its next airplane?
Governor Jay Inslee and labor and business leaders working under the banner of the “Choose Washington NMA Council,” released a study Wednesday in a bid to convince Boeing to keep airliner production where it pretty much always has been -- in Western Washington.
Cost of the study was $50,000, paid for by the coalition of business leaders and not tax dollars.
The NMA in that group's title is shorthand for Boeing’s next potential airliner, referring to “New Mid-market Airplane” or “New Mid-sized Airplane.”
The plane would fill a gap between the larger 737s, which have 220 to 230 seats, to the smallest 787 Dreamliner with 242 seats.
It would also fill a space in the Boeing product lineup which used to be filled by the 757. Boeing ended 757 production in 2005. The NMA, however, would be much different.
The NMA, which some suggest could eventually be labeled the 797, could have an elliptical fuselage as opposed to the round body of most jets today. That would allow for two aisles like bigger jets and more seating across. Boeing has suggested it could sell more than 4,000 of the jets and potentially start delivering it to airlines in 2025.
A Boeing spokesperson on Wednesday released the following statement:
"It’s premature to provide comment at this time as we have not begun the formal process of site selection for the New Mid-Market Airplane. We will do so in due course but until then we continue to work to close our business case. Our business case efforts do not represent a program launch nor do they indicate when we will decide on next steps."
While Boeing has people working on a design and consulting with dozens of airline customers, the aerospace giant has yet to launch the plane -- if it will go ahead at all.
That hasn’t held back Inslee, The Machinists Union, or the Aerospace Futures Alliance -- a regional trade group made largely of suppliers who make parts and offer services to Boeing and other manufacturers.
A state-by-state comparison released Wednesday confirms what the governor and others have been saying: Washington is the best value for Boeing. The Aerospace Competitive Economics Study authored by well-known industry analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group says:
• “Washington state has the largest and most developed aerospace industry in the nation..”
• Washington has more aerospace workers than California and Texas, states with five and three times the population.
• The state has the largest number of aerospace workers and highest density of aerospace engineers.
• “Washington ranks as the second most competitive state in the nation for labor, material energy and construction costs.”
• “Washington has the 5th lowest taxes in the nation.” And offers seven tax incentives to aerospace businesses.
The Teal Group study compares Washington by various measurements to other states including Ohio, North Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, Georgia, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, California, Florida and South Carolina and others.
Whether it’s the NMA or another jet, Boeing will build something new eventually. The company and Washington state both know the steps to this dance if the company proceeds as it has in the last two airplane launches -- the 787 Dreamliner, and the 777X. In both of those cases, Washington had to compete against other states to “win” an all-new jet (the 787) or “keep” (the 777X version of the 777).
For both of those, Washington’s legislature offered tax breaks which extend to all manufacturers of commercial airliners and airliner parts. To win the 777X, Washington also offered $8.7 billion in tax breaks that run for decades. That deal came complete with a giant, new factory to make the new plane's wings out of composites -- a super strong carbon fiber and resin.
Washington has also seen the rise of Boeing’s growing operations in North Charleston, South Carolina, where the company set up a second assembly line to build 787 Dreamliners. The company made that decision in 2009 as it was fighting with its unions. South Carolina is a so-called “right to work state" where employees can opt out of union membership even where a collective bargaining group exists.
