the NAME GAME

What's in a name? Well, that's what Boeing Commercial Airplanes wants to find out, so it's going straight to the people who would know best: the citizens of the world.

Through a special Internet promotion with AOL Time Warner Inc., and The Sunday Times of London, Boeing has invited people around the globe to become more involved than ever in the development of the 7E7, the next all-new Boeing commercial airplane.

The effort, launched May 5, is designed to seek votes for the official airplane name and provide a first look at the exterior concepts under consideration to enhance the airplane's appearance and performance.

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BEHIND DOOR NO. 2

Just 18 months after the tragic events of Sept. 11 brought U.S. air transportation to a halt, the industry has undergone a revolution in security: Passenger and baggage screening is more thorough and all U.S. airport security officers are federal employees.

And on the airplane itself, a culture shift on the flight deck—from acceding to hijackers' demands to focusing on retaining control of the aircraft—has led to an immense, industrywide effort to design and implement a revolutionary change in technology.

On April 9, all of the 7,000 commercial passenger jets that serve U.S. airports, whether of international or U.S. registry, must have installed enhanced security flight deck doors that prevent unauthorized entry into the cockpit. As the builder of some 5,500 airplanes in the U.S. fleet, Boeing faced the lion's share of the challenge.

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The road to profitability

Despite the downturn in the airline industry and operating a nearly bankrupt airline in 2001, Pakistan International Airlines' management team now is aggressively implementing short- and long-term strategies to return to profitability by renewing its fleet. This journey to profitability began in 2002 with the acquisition of eight new Boeing 777s.

Mission: Impossible

For many years airplane industry officials said Pakistan International Airlines would not return to profitability, renew its fleet or extend its route network. But PIA's management team persevered. After years of working together with Boeing, an airplane selection process involving a six-member PIA Board aircraft acquisition committee chose Boeing over the competition as the manufacturer of its new fleet. For those involved in this process, the decision was extremely gratifying.

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'Home' schooling in the factory

A new training center in the Renton, Wash., factory is bringing new meaning to the phrase on-the-job training. Dubbed the Employee Development and Resource Center, the new facility is located next to the 737 production line and includes four state-of-the-art classrooms and a workshop area equipped with drills, pneumatic hoses and other tools.

Eighteen months in the making, the EDRC is a one-stop shop, providing training and knowledge to employees who need it at the time they can apply it. The center is staffed and equipped to provide job skill improvement, certification, and recertification classes, as well as career assessment and counseling services.

Although the concept of an onsite training center is not unique, the EDRC represents an important collaboration between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union.

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