Boeing delivers first commercial plane built outside Washington
Oct 5, 2012, 7:23 AM | Updated: 9:04 am
Air India and Boeing executives cut the ribbon on the first commercial Boeing jet ever built outside of Washington. (Photo courtesy Boeing)
(Photo courtesy Boeing)
A lot of people questioned whether Boeing could put it off, but on Friday the company delivered its first commercial airplane built outside the state of Washington.
Boeing delivered the first 787 manufactured in the North Charleston, South Carolina, plant to Air India. It went from ground-breaking to first delivery in just about three years.
“It’s exciting to have a real customer come here,” Boeing senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales Dinesh Keskar told MyNorthwest.com. “Three years ago there was nothing but trees and swamp here, and now there is a beautiful factory.”
Air India now has three Dreamliners in its fleet, and Keskar said the company couldn’t be happier. “Yes they were not too pleased when we had the delays and yes everybody was anxious whether Boeing would pull this off, but now that we have done it, it is everything they thought and more,” Keskar said.
