Boeing has been associated with the Seattle region for the majority of its existence.
Although the international aerospace corporation has locations both domestically and abroad, it was established in Seattle, and for most of its history, it constructed its commercial aircraft at two plants in the Seattle region.
2011 saw the opening of Boeing's third industrial facility, this one in Charleston, South Carolina.
The new location was created after Boeing acquired the South Carolina-based operations of two suppliers in 2008 and 2009: Vought Aircraft Industries and Global Aeronautica, which produced parts for Boeing.
Before building a final 787 assembly and delivery line on the property two years later, Boeing acquired both operations and integrated them.
The Charleston facility works in tandem with Boeing's Everett facility in Washington state, which makes wide-body commercial aircraft.
Boeing stated that it needed the second assembly line to "increase our production capacity to fulfill the market demand for the airplane" and that it chose the Charleston location because component work was already being done there.
However, the announcement occurred at a time when ties with its Washington-based union were tense, giving rise to accusations that the plane-maker was attempting to forcibly bypass the union.
Since then, it is said that Boeing has opposed any attempts by employees in Charleston to form a union.
Boeing announced in 2020 that it would combine 787 productions in Charleston rather than split it between South Carolina and Washington, a move that was finished the following year.
Before an event commemorating United Airlines' new order for up to 200 aircraft, we got the chance to tour the facility in December.
As with Airbus, Embraer, and other airframe builders, Boeing doesn't actually produce much of the plane itself, thus claiming that the Dreamliners are made at its facility is a little misleading.
Instead, the company fabricates a few pieces directly and outsources the rest to specialized manufacturers.
The finished product is then assembled by Boeing after gathering all of the components.
Because of this, the Charleston facility is more of an assembly line.
As a result, you won't only witness 787s in various stages of completion as you drive through the complex, which is situated on the grounds of the airport.
Additionally, you'll see Boeing's unique "Dreamlifter," an unusual sort of aircraft.
The Dreamlifter is a modified 747-400 with almost triple the cargo volume because of its bulbous hull.
Boeing created the model in the middle of the millennium primarily to move bulky parts for the 787, such as wings, from suppliers to the factory.
Other big freight aircraft at the time were inadequate.
The four Dreamlifters, which are run by cargo airline Atlas Air for Boeing, are primarily used to pick up and deliver Dreamliner wings manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan as well as various fuselage sections, frames, horizontal stabilizers, and other parts manufactured by Leonardo in Italy.
While thousands of other components are carried through a variety of transportation methods, the main fuselage, which was made by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, is transported via train.
Two of the Dreamlifters were present when we arrived.
However, Boeing continues to manufacture various parts, most notably the back, or aft, of the aircraft.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that it uses exclusive technologies and manufacturing techniques, Boeing asked us to agree not to take photos of some areas of the site.
Nevertheless, there were some places where we could look around and take pictures.
Workers transport the aft piece to a final assembly facility once it is finished.
At this point, the wings and other structures are coupled to the main body and the aft part is joined to the fuselage.
The final customer's paint job is applied to the aircraft as it progresses down the production line, and the interiors and flight control systems are installed.
Before being delivered, each aircraft is given the final touches and put through a testing program that is rigorous.
A Turkish Airlines 787-9 arrived on the ground during our trip after nearly three hours of testing over the Atlantic Ocean.
The 787 aircraft are parked all over the Charleston site while they wait to be delivered.
After many issues with Boeing's quality control procedures in Charleston surfaced, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an order to halt 787 deliveries in mid-2021.
Last summer, deliveries started up again.
Due to the more than one-year delivery hold, which occurred just as demand for air travel was starting to increase after reaching pandemic-era lows, Boeing is working to deliver a backlog of the finished airplanes to airline customers.
In addition to slowing the production line, the corporation also paused deliveries due to the epidemic.
Lisa Fahl, senior director of quality, claims that Boeing aims to complete five Dreamliners per month.
According to Fahl, the line between Charleston and Everett reached a peak of 14 new aircraft every month, indicating that output may increase in the future.
It's unclear when production will pick up speed, but as United's purchase shows, demand for new Dreamliners is high and is expected to remain so for years to come.
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