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Manufacturing firms such as Sun Microsystems, Boeing, and Volvo, which enjoy success in their respective fields, all adhere to company philosophies and strict product management strategies which have made them competitive. Sun employs quality and cost goals to survive in a volatile, limited product lifecycle market. Boeing stresses the importance of planning in product development to avoid costly mistakes while Volvo relies on consumer research and test markets before building new products.

In a heated competition with Airbus, Boeing sold too much too quickly, and couldn't deliver its planes on time. It now must repair customer relationships after a production disaster On […]

Airlines are able to obtain significant operational costs savings through the use of navigational aids known as the Future Air Navigation System-1 and the Global Positioning System. For example, the savings on the North America to Australia/New Zealand region, based on a Boeing 747-400 aircraft, can amount to a savings of $495 per flight, which is equivalent to $173,250 per year. Several airlines, Boeing, Honeywell, and civil aviation agencies from several countries, have worked together to set up the FANS system and establish routes for its use., FANS-1 opens the door to new saving and revenue opportunties across the Pacific The recent implementation of a satellite-based communication and navigation regime across the South Pacific offers substantial competitive [...]

Pratt & Whitney, facing lower demand for aircraft engines and engine parts, has finally implemented a cost-cutting program. In Jan 1993, president Karl Krapek implemented a restructuring plan intended to cut Pratt's manufacturing costs by 35%, reduce its supplier base by 50%, cut its employment to 30,000, and dispose of unneeded factory space and equipment. The company hopes to retain its market share, however., Pratt & Whitney faces up to the fact that costs must be trimmed in the current climate of more completion, extended warranties and fewer sales For several years, airframe and [...]

Customer options on the Boeing 777-200X and 300X models are being enhanced by Boeing Co in an attempt to wrestle a share of the transpacific aircraft market from Airbus. Singapore Airlines is expected to be the immediate target of Boeing.

Problems with its supply chain may hinder Boeing's ability to deliver new commercial aircraft on time. Suppliers who were left out of the consolidation loop have ceased operations, while some of those who remain are not willing to invest in new capacity.

Boeing's AST ballistic missile defense program uses a Hughes infrared telescope mounted on a specially modified Boeing 767 to track missiles. With the telescope mounted in a special cupola, the 767 has underbody strakes to promote low-speed stability. Boeing's AST program has completed 37 successful missions.

A NASA Boeing 757 aircraft with four teams of avionics suppliers as well as Boeing officials have ended 226 automatic landings used to gather information necessary of the development of the requirements needed to certify precision GPS approaches. During an eight-day period, the NASA aircraft carried four sets of differential global positioning system equipment during the approaches at the Wallops Island Air Field in Virginia.

Boeing Co. reports that integration of its business with those of McDonnell Douglas and Rockwell are progressing well, but many members of the aerospace industry do not agree. Military aspects of the companies may not be fully integrated until 2000.

Boeing executives say that they remain committed to the Teledesic satellite venture, even as the company drastically reduces the number of people working on the project. Meanwhile, Motorola is expected to push for a role in the venture.

The $750 million NASA plans to spend to boost the development of a next-generation of reusable launch vehicles should be spent to upgrade the shuttle, including such things as the reusable Liquid Fly-Back Booster, says Boeing Co officials.

The key fuselage assemblies of the first production V-22 have been joined by workers at Boeing's Ridley Park, PA plant. The move marks the end of a 17-year old debate over whether the V-22 would ever be produced.

Upstart low-cost competitors are threatening to drive such commercial launch industry giants as Lockheed Martin and Boeing out of the market, unless the federal government and the two companies embark of a comprehensive program to revamp the space launch site at Cape Canaveral, FL.

Boeing Co and Airbus Industrie say that they are very optimistic about doing lucrative business in Asia despite the economic turmoil that has embroiled Asia. The problems are expected to lead to the loss of $2 billion in 1998 operating profits for the world's airlines.

Airbus Industries' proposed major revamp is under pressure to push through following the announcement of rival Boeing's $3 bil contract to sell commercial aircraft to China. The deal cements Boeing's edge over Airbus in China which ranks as the fastest-developing aviation market in the thriving Asia-Pacific region. The plan of Airbus' four partners is to centralize and streamline the company's decision-making and to provide Airbus' management greater capacity to handle costs.

Airbus Industrie used the Paris Air Show to express its opposition to the planned merger of rival Boeing Co and McDonnell Douglas. Airbus also opposed the exclusive deals Boeing has been signing with US airlines. Boeing said that Airbus has its own connections with suppliers in Europe.

Airbus Industrie has announced its intention to enter the long-range, large-cabin business jets market with its introduction of the A319. The market is dominated by Bombardier Aerospace and Gulfstream Aerospace. Boeing also has entered the fray with the launch of its 737 business jet.

Boeing's new strategic thinking is reflected in the exclusive longterm contracts it signed with Delta Airlines and American Airlines to supply the jet transport aircraft to the two carriers. Boeing also has forged alliances that gives it a foothold in the pilot training and satellite launching markets.

Boeing's decision to branch out of the aerospace industry into other areas of business is being questioned by Wall Street analysts who think the move is fraught with risks. They point to Boeing's woeful track record regarding past attempts to diversify into non-traditional business lines.

Airbus is determined to go after the super-jumbo jet market, despite a decision by Boeing to forsake plans to develop longer-range and larger versions of the 747 transport aircraft. Boeing says it will focus on developing higher-performance versions of the 777 and the 767.

European Airbus Corp.'s shock over the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger has been eased by the its record performance in 1996 when its sales exceeded Boeing's for the first time. Another coup for the company is a deal to supply USAir with 400 planes worth nearly $5 billion. Airbus also broke Boeing's hold over the Chinese market after receiving an order for 30 A320 short-haul passenger jets worth $1.5 billion.

A comprehensive set of recommendations designed to enhance the operation and reliability of yaw damper systems and rudder control units in Boeing 737-series aircraft are expected to be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration by the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB). Part of the safety board's action arose out of conclusions it drew from 737 flight data recorders and investigations of two accidents involving the aircraft.

The first hardware deliveries for the F-22 are being made by Boeing in the face of a strike that has slowed down the scheduled deliveries of components. Boeing and Lockheed are in a risk-sharing partnership for the Air Force's new aircraft and is responsible for 33% of the cost of the project as well as of hardware.

The effort to attain higher levels of performance in the face of drastic changes in the aerospace and defense industries has prompted Boeing Commercial Airplane Group to adopt a radically different approach in operating its business. Boeing's new approach include a total restructuring on the company's accounting system as well as the overhauling of Boeing's ponderous methods of measuring performance.