The consolidation is part of a larger Commercial Airplanes focus on customer commitments, stepping up efforts to meet market demand for Boeing products, services and support as airplane delivery rates increase.
Boeing will relocate all full-flight simulators and other devices from Seattle to Miami, starting with two 787 training suites. Miami is Boeing's largest commercial aviation training campus and is a preferred training location for customers based in Latin America as well as the United States, Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. With this consolidation, Miami will be established as the pro forma flight training location for Boeing in the Americas. Implementation will begin immediately.
"This is about getting close to our customers, doing what is right for them and bringing them the best product support and services in the industry," says Sherry Carbary, vice president, Flight Services, Commercial Aviation Services. "If we are going to better serve our customers and meet training commitments and airplane deliveries as we ramp up on rate, the time to do this is now."
With 20 simulator bays, the Miami facility is one of the largest commercial flight training campuses in the world, but currently that space is underutilized, with 11 training devices and the capacity to accommodate nine additional full-flight simulators.
The majority of the Seattle Flight Services team will not be affected, but some employees will be impacted by the planned consolidation, Carbary says. "Our training team is the best in the industry. We value the contributions they bring to Boeing every day, and the competitive advantage they bring to our customers around the world."
The plan to locate 787 training in Miami was announced in 2008 as part of Boeing's strategy to better serve the training requirements of airlines by locating training closer to where they do business.