Report: Boeing 777X wish list reveals company demands, desires

While Washington and other states have been racing to offer incentives to land Boeing’s new 777X, the company has been silent about its wants and needs. But newly released documents show Boeing has a fairly long list of requirements and “desired incentives” for the new plant.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch obtained a copy of the request for proposals Boeing has put out to states seeking to win the deal to build the next generation jetliner.

The “desired incentives” include:
-Site at no cost, or very low cost, to project
-Facilities at no cost, or significantly reduced cost
-Infrastructure improvements provided by the location
-Full support in worker training
-“Entire applicable tax structure including corporate income tax, franchise tax, property tax, sales/use tax, business license/gross receipts tax and excise taxes to be significantly reduced.”

The RFP says the ideal site would be immediately adjacent to a major international airport with a 9,000 foot runway capable of landing both 777X and 747-400 freighter airplanes. That would seem to favor a location such as Boeing’s existing Everett plant.

The 11-page document also says the company desires a nearby seaport that can handle large container ships and regular international ocean carrier service, which would also presumably help Washington state in its effort to win the deal.

Boeing has refused to comment on the RFP or the accuracy of the document obtained by the Post Dispatch.

The document indicates the company plans to build either a single 4.2 million-square-foot facility costing $7 billion to $10 billion for the building and equipment, or two separate plants: a 3.1 million square foot building for fuselage and final assembly costing $4 billion to $6 billion and a second, 1.1 million-square-foot plant to build the 777X’s 114-foot-long carbon fiber wing at a cost of $2 billion to $4 billion.

The document indicates the company is looking for plenty of help from wherever it chooses to build the new plane, saying “company preference is toward a location that will share in the cost of capital expenditures” such as buying, building, and equipping the plant. The overall cost of doing business, availability of workers, quality and cost are also cited, although it makes no specific mention of union workers.

Boeing has set a mid-December deadline for states to submit their proposals to the company. The company won’t give a specific date, but Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who is leading efforts there to lure the 777X, said this week the deadline is Tuesday, Dec. 10.