Boeing opens 787 Dreamliner delivery center in US

Boeing 787 Dreamliner AP PHOTO

NORTH CHARLESTON – Boeing unveiled Friday a gleaming center for customers to take possession of their 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the final major piece in its new South Carolina complex.

The delivery center marks a milestone for the US aerospace giant: it will be where the first customer for the South Carolina-built 787 Dreamliner will receive the ceremonial keys to take the plane home.

Until now, Boeing commercial aircraft have been delivered to customers at Boeing’s Puget Sound facilities near Seattle, Washington.

Work is under way on the first 787 Dreamliner at Boeing’s Final Assembly and Delivery facility in North Charleston.

That plane will roll out the plant door in the first quarter of next year, said Jack Jones, vice president and general manager at Boeing South Carolina.

Jones said delivery of the plane would take place in the second quarter, but he declined to name the customer.

Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways took delivery in late September of the first 787, a new type of aircraft built largely with composite materials.

Boeing claims the twin-aisle plane will use 20 percent less fuel than similarly sized aircraft.

“Today, we celebrate the opening of the Boeing South Carolina Delivery Center and look forward to delivering our first South Carolina-built 787s in 2012,” Jones said.

“Customers will come from around the world to take delivery of their 787 and will see the great pride and talent of our Boeing South Carolina teammates.”

Jones hailed the warp-speed rise of Boeing’s massive campus in North Charleston since the ground-breaking just under two years ago, on November 20, 2009.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony where elected officials, community leaders and more than 500 Boeing employees gathered under bright blue skies, Jones said that already the assembly team was shifting to an eight-day rate, meaning a production average of 2.5 planes per month.

“Things are really starting to hum,” he said.

Boeing plans to ramp up production to three planes per month by the end of 2013, while the Washington state plant is set to produce seven.