1_LBBJ_Mar4_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 3/2/14 4:38 PM Page 14
AVIATION/AEROSPACE INDUSTRY FOCUS 14 Long Beach Business Journal
March 4-17, 2014
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Boeing’s California Job Presence More Than Halved Since 2001
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Local Operations Shift Focus
basket with JetBlue, it would offer up the ability to get another airline in here if they bailed out.” Other nearby medium hub airports with U.S. Customs services include John Wayne Airport and Palm Springs International Airport. Scott said that the Airport Advisory Commission has not heard from JetBlue or the airport administration in a couple of months about adding U.S. Customs services to the airport. Whether or not the idea progresses depends on JetBlue’s investment decision, and as Scott summarized, “The ball is in their court.” ■
■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer Since 2001, the number of people employed by The Boeing Company in California has decreased by more than half from 42,800 to 17,929. With the announcement in 2013 that the aerospace company cease manufacturing the would Globemaster III C-17 at its Long Beach plant, nearly 3,000 more local jobs are being phased out by 2015. Still, the company maintains a local and statewide pres-
ence, although not as large as it once was. Boeing’s physical presence in Long Beach exists in its Douglas Center campus off of Carson Street and Lakewood Boulevard and at its C-17 plant located behind Douglas Park, according to Brittany Kuhn, a spokesperson for Boeing. In addition to manufacturing C-17s, Long Beach programs also contribute to the Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) divisions. Boeing’s focus in Long Beach appears to be shifting toward its commercial division. In May, the company announced it would add about 300 engineering jobs in Long Beach and Seal Beach to be part of a
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Southern California Design Center focused on maintenance and design of out-of-production commercial aircraft. Boeing continues to hire for the design center, Kuhn said. “These employees are providing customer support to the BCA out-of-production airplane models – 707,727,737 Classic and 757,” Kuhn said of Southern California Design Center employees. “The Southern California team already supports all of the out-of-production McDonnell Douglas airplane models,” she said. “The number of out-of-production Boeing airplanes still in operation is approximately 4,500,” she estimated. Production of the C-17 continues until the fourth quarter of 2015, when the last airplane is scheduled for completion, Kuhn said. Boeing is building five more C-17s for the Indian Air Force and another 14 to other customers outside of the United States, she said. Incremental plant shutdown is set to begin in mid-2014. Kuhn said that the company is closing the assembly facility in Long Beach following completion of the last aircraft. She stated, “At this time, no decisions have been made about the disposition of the buildings. However, there are no plans for continued production in the facility.” ■
Flight Safety International Trains Pilots, Technicians And Attendants In Long Beach ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer
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Long Beach-based Flight Safety International is part of what General Manager Peter Nily said is “probably the most regulated and training intensive industry in the world.” “Brain surgeons don’t have to do this,” Nily said. The training company, which has 40 learning centers in 10 countries, has roots in Long Beach dating back to the 1960s. At the company’s 48,000-square-foot facility at the Long Beach Airport, 2,500 people a year receive corporate pilot, maintenance technician and cabin safety training, according to Nily, who has been with the company for about 15 years. At the Long Beach Airport, Flight Safety International trains corporate pilots and maintenance technicians for Gulfstream aircraft. “We have flight simulators that represent Gulfstream aircraft – those are the aircraft that are completed and serviced next door at the Gulfstream facility,” Nily explained as he gave the Business Journal a tour of his company’s property. Gulfstream’s facilities are a short walk from Flight Safety International. “In this building we currently have the G550, G450, GV, GIV and GIII simulators,” Nily said. The simulators look like something a student might want to climb