Boeing 777X wing to be built in Everett

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing has decided that Everett will be the place where the wing of the 777X airplane will be built, The Seattle Times reports. The newspaper, citing people with knowledge of the plans, said the facility will be next to the final assembly plant in Everett. The Times reports ( http://tinyurl.com/mugwdbg ) that the wing decision, which Boeing management could announce as early as Tuesday, secures an investment of up to $4 billion for Snohomish County and more than a decade of work for thousands of employees who will make the advanced composite-plastic wing. Messages for Boeing Co. spokespeople left Monday by The Associated Press weren’t immediately returned. Boeing told the Times that “the location will be announced at the appropriate time.” Because of the large size of the 777X wing, a location close to the Everett final-assembly line was seen as a logical choice. At 114 feet long and 23 feet wide, the 777X wing will be the largest Boeing has ever built. Everett “is the only logical place to do it,” aviation-industry analyst Scott Hamilton said. On Jan. 3, area Boeing machinists narrowly approved a contract in which they conceded some benefits in order to secure assembly of the new 777X in Washington state. The same machinists rejected a Boeing contract proposal in November. Local union leaders had argued against a second vote, saying the offers were too similar. National Machinists union leaders pushed for — and got —the second vote. Washington leaders approved nearly $9 billion in tax breaks in November to aid Boeing. More than 20 other states moved recently to bid for work on the 777X, an updated version of Boeing’s best-selling 777. The company received orders for 225 new 777X planes from three airlines at the Dubai Airshow. The 777X is expected to carry as many as 400 passengers and be more fuel efficient than the 777.