Business

商業(yè)

Boeing’s woes

波音公司的痛苦

Nightmareliner

噩夢客機(jī)

Boeing’s new 787 has been cleared for take-off. But its troubles continue

新型波音787客機(jī)已經(jīng)可以無障礙起飛了，但它的麻煩還在繼續(xù)

IT WAS tempting fate to call an ambitious new aircraft the “Dreamliner”. A combination of radical technology and a novel outsourced system of manufacture has turned the Boeing 787 into a nightmare.

波音是在玩命：它們將一架被寄予厚望的新型飛機(jī)被冠名以“夢幻客機(jī)”。 然而，基礎(chǔ)科技與全新外包生產(chǎn)系統(tǒng)的結(jié)合，將波音公司的787客機(jī)變成了一場夢魘。

Since its launch in December 2003, delay has piled on delay. The 787’s seal of approval from the American and European aviation authorities on August 26th and its first delivery—to All Nippon Airways in late September—come more than three years behind schedule.

自從2003年9月宣布研發(fā)生產(chǎn)787以來，延期就接踵而至。 波音直到今年8月26號才獲得來自歐美航空局的787客機(jī)審批，而第一次交付給全日本航空的787飛機(jī)要今年9月底才能到位。這超過原計(jì)劃三年。

Nor do the company’s woes end there: it now faces the difficult task of ramping up production and delivering 787s to impatient customers. Three dozen part-finished 787s are lying around airfields by Boeing’s Everett factory north of Seattle, with ten more inside. The original plan was to have delivered over 100 787s by the end of 2009. Instead the company will be lucky to dispatch seven by the end of this year, and it will be late 2013 before production reaches the ten planes a month needed to break into profit.

波音公司的痛苦仍在繼續(xù)：客戶們越來越急不可耐，而公司卻很難讓產(chǎn)量實(shí)現(xiàn)跨越式增長。 36架部分完成的787已經(jīng)在波音埃弗雷特生產(chǎn) 基地（坐落于西雅圖北部）的停機(jī)坪上停放著了，還有10多架停在庫房里面。 波音公司原本計(jì)劃在2009年底之前交付100多架787。 但現(xiàn)在，它能在今年交付7架飛機(jī)就已經(jīng)很幸運(yùn)了。遲至2013年，波音公司才能將產(chǎn)量提高到每月10架飛機(jī)，從而扭虧為盈。

The delays were caused by suppliers. Vought in America and Alenia in Italy delivered defective chunks of the new composite plastic fuselage. Vought struggled so much that Boeing had to buy it. There were also hitches in the supply of smaller parts such as fasteners. Delays, reworking and compensation to customers all burned cash. Inventory costs at Boeing Commercial Airplanes swelled from about $17 billion in December 2009 to more than $24 billion by December 2010.

延期主要是來自供應(yīng)商。 美國的Vought公司和意大利的Alenia公司曾交付了有缺陷的新型合成塑料機(jī)身。 但是，在Vought使出渾身解數(shù)之 后，波音公司不得不買下此類次品。 連安全帶這樣的小配件也出現(xiàn)了故障。 延期、返工以及客戶補(bǔ)償都耗資巨大。 從2009年12月到2010年12月，波音商業(yè)飛機(jī)的庫存費(fèi)用從大約170億美元膨脹到了240億美元以上。

Bernstein, a research firm, estimates that Boeing will not start making money until it delivers its 45th aircraft, and the overall programme will not earn a profit until 1,000 aircraft have been delivered. Boeing officials suggest that this is too pessimistic. More details should emerge in October, with Boeing’s third-quarter results.

一家研究公司Bernstein預(yù)計(jì)：波音公司在它送出自己第45架飛機(jī)之前，是不會開始盈利的；而整個項(xiàng)目需要交付1000架飛機(jī)才能獲得盈 利。 波音公司的官員認(rèn)為這個預(yù)測未免太過于悲觀了。更多的細(xì)節(jié)需要到10月份等波音第三季度財(cái)務(wù)報告出來之后才可以看到。

The Dreamliner’s delays are especially painful because its launch was Boeing’s most successful ever. Attracted by the new plane’s promise of fuel economy—20% better than competitors—customers flocked to order more than 950. The strong plastic fuselage also allows for a nicer cabin with bigger windows and fresher, less pressurised air. The current order book is still 821 after cancellations. But early orders were all booked either at discounted launch prices or at levels set before the plane’s production costs soared, and Boeing has little hope of putting up the price.

“夢幻客機(jī)”曾經(jīng)被認(rèn)為是波音最成功的項(xiàng)目之一，因此它的延誤就越發(fā)顯得令人痛苦。 蜂擁而至的客戶預(yù)訂了超過950架787客機(jī)。他們被新型飛機(jī)的燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)所吸引——波音公司承諾787會比其他競爭者多省20%的燃油。 堅(jiān)實(shí)的塑料機(jī)身可以提供更舒適的機(jī)艙——機(jī)窗更大，而面里的氣壓更小空氣也更清新。 預(yù)訂被取消之后，在案的仍有821個訂單。 但是之前的訂單價都享受了打折或是按飛機(jī)生產(chǎn)成本未增加之前的水平收取了費(fèi)用，（眼下）波音想要提升價格是不可能的。

Hopes were high in 2003 that the Dreamliner’s revolutionary plastic airframe would make for easier assembly than conventional aluminium ones. This may yet prove to be true, as even Airbus has opted to follow Boeing, switching to plastic in its new aircraft. Privately, Boeing officials admit that an all-new plane, a new technology and a new way of working with manufacturers (which involved risk-sharing), was too much novelty all at once.

2003年，人們對夢幻客機(jī)的期望非常高。它的革命性塑料機(jī)身比起傳統(tǒng)的鋁合金機(jī)身來，要更易于裝配。 這或許是事實(shí)：畢竟連空客都選 擇學(xué)波音，將傳統(tǒng)機(jī)身換成了新型的塑料機(jī)身。 波音官員私底下承認(rèn)，要將新飛機(jī)、新技術(shù)以及跟生產(chǎn)商新型合作方式（同時會共享風(fēng)險）一次性整合起來，真的太過頭了。

The nightmare is having knock-on effects. On August 29th Boeing’s board approved the launch of an upgraded version of its best-selling 737 single-aisle model, to be called the 737 MAX.

這個噩夢正在造成連鎖效應(yīng)。 今年8月29日，波音董事會批準(zhǔn)了對其最暢銷的737單過道飛機(jī)進(jìn)行升級，并取名為737 MAX。

This is a sign that Boeing is playing catch-up with Airbus, which has won over 1,200 orders for its re-engined single-aisle A320. Boeing had been hoping to hold off until it could offer an all-new single-aisle aircraft, based on the 787’s plastic technology. But in July American Airlines— one of Boeing’s core customers—decided to give Airbus the lion’s share of its order (the world’s biggest) to renew its single-aisle fleet. Boeing had to scale back its ambitions. “We have the technology,” says an insider. “But the lesson of the 787 is that we could not get the production up to scratch in time.”

這是波音努力 追逐空客的信號。空客公司的重新安裝引擎后的A320單過道飛機(jī)曾贏得了超過1200個訂單。 波音想提供一架全新的以787塑料技術(shù)為基礎(chǔ) 的單過道飛機(jī)，它曾希望在此之前按兵不動。 但是，今年七月份，美國航空——波音的核心顧客——為了更新單過道飛機(jī)，它決定向空客 提供最大份額的訂單（也是全世界最大的）。 波音不得不相應(yīng)壓低自己的雄心。“我們是有技術(shù)，”一個內(nèi)部人員說道，“但是787帶來的教訓(xùn)是：我們無法及時地生產(chǎn)出產(chǎn)品。”