As we head toward the weekend, I’m catching my breath before what promises to be a very busy stretch going into the Singapore Airshow. First of all, I wanted to step back and say a huge thanks to Aer Lingus for playing host to us during the Dream Tour’s stop in Dublin last week. More than 1,000 people visited the 787 during that stop in Ireland and it was exciting to see all the buzz.

Great photo from Dublin looking out the 787 windows and onto the wing.

During my time in Dublin, I also took part in the annual European Airfinance Journal Conference. I always enjoy this conference because it offers a great opportunity to take the pulse of the industry early in the year. Are there concerns about the market? Yes, but I have to say that everyone continues to be upbeat—including the financiers who seem confident about what lies ahead.

I’ll be in Singapore a few days before the actual air show to attend the Low Cost Carrier Conference. A lot of airlines, especially in Asia, are now competing in the low-cost segment and that’s fueling demand for single-aisle airplanes. Case in point— Nok Air in Thailand. They recently promoted their new 737-800 with a special sale to destinations across Thailand. Love their livery. I’ve always said our airplanes have personality. Now it’s great to see that Nok (which means bird in Thai) gave them a face— and a beak too.

We know the new 737 MAX and the Next-Generation 737 are the perfect fit for these airlines and we look forward to working with them on their fleet needs. I’ll be blogging more in depth about this once I get to Singapore. For now, I’ll leave you with a picture of Guinness I enjoyed in Dublin. While it tastes good here at home, it tastes even better in Ireland.

Cheers to the weekend!

There’s something very elegant about an airplane painted in simple white. And when that airplane just happens to be the first 747-8 Intercontinental scheduled for delivery, it’s even more beautiful.

The Intercontinental being readied for delivery conducted its first flight from Paine Field this week. Ed Turner photo.

Earlier this week, the airplane reached another milestone by completing its first production flight (B-1 Flight) from Paine Field in Everett. During the flight, the pilots checked the Intercontinental’s systems to make sure the airplane is ready for delivery.

I’m told the airplane performed very well and will now undergo more tests and a customer flight before delivery to a VIP customer. We look forward to announcing a delivery date soon. Congratulations to the entire 747 team for another exciting moment in program history.

I’m just back from Dublin, Ireland where the 787 Dream Tour made another impressive stop.

Hello from Ireland!

I’ve used many adjectives over the years to describe the 787. Now there’s a new one to add to the list - legendary.

Mike Sinnett, vice president and chief project engineer for the 787 program, accepts the Aircraft of Legend award. Courtesy of Kiddie Hawk Air Academy / Larry Grace.

During a ceremony in Beverly Hills, the Living Legends of Aviation presented the 787 Dream Team with a special award— the very first Aircraft of Legend award. While the group has honored the likes of everyone from Buzz Aldrin to Morgan Freeman, this is the first time an airplane itself has been recognized.

Honored to receive the first Aircraft of Legend award.

The Legends event is produced by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, which introduces children to flight with the Kiddie Hawk Trainer.

It’s quite an honor for us and a real tribute to the thousands of men and women at Boeing and our partners around the world who’ve created an airplane that is already legendary.

The way we ended 2011 with such strong orders, it’s really no surprise to see just how well the company did in the fourth-quarter. The numbers released today show that earnings per share rose to $1.84 on revenue of $19.6 billion thanks in large part to commercial airplane deliveries. For the full year 2011, earnings per share increased 20 percent to $5.34 on record revenue of $68.7 billion.

On the commercial side, we have a record backlog of 3,771 airplanes worth $296 billion, which equates to six years of production at current rates. BCA revenue also increased by 14 percent for the full year.

But what I’m most excited about is where we’re going in 2012. On the commercial side, today’s guidance shows that deliveries are expected to be between 585 and 600 airplanes. 70 to 85 of those deliveries are expected to be 787 and 747-8s, of which approximately half are 787s.

And our prediction of 2012 being the Year of the 737 MAX continues to look solid. Earlier today, Norwegian announced a firm order for 100 737 MAX airplanes and 22 Next-Generation 737-800s. It’s the largest-ever Boeing order from a European airline.

A 737 MAX in Norwegian livery.

This will be a very defining year for Boeing as we continue our production rate increases and work to put our airplanes into the hands of our customers. And while there’s no looking back, I do want to share some of the highlights from fourth-quarter 2011 that helped us end the year on a great note and provided the momentum for a strong start to 2012.

737

The agreement with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers ensured the new 737 MAX will be built in Renton. By year’s end, the MAX had more than 1,000 orders and commitments from 15 customers. In the fourth quarter, the team started to produce the first Next-Generation 737 at a rate of 35 per month, the highest ever. The program booked 551 net orders and delivered 372 airplanes in 2011.

747-8

In October, launch customer Cargolux took delivery of its first 747-8 Freighter. The program delivered nine of the jumbo freighters in 2011. The airplane’s performance has been exceptional with a dispatch reliability rate approaching 97 percent. The 747-8 Intercontinental is on track for a delivery early this year to the first VIP customer and to airline launch customer Lufthansa.

767

Boeing remains on plan to deliver the first 18 combat-ready tankers by 2017. In the fourth quarter, FedEx Express ordered 27 767-300 Freighters, pushing total orders for the freighter to 111. By year’s end, the program had delivered 20 airplanes to five customers and received 42 orders - a mix of tankers, passenger airplanes and freighters.

777

The 777 won an unprecedented 200 net orders in 2011, breaking the record of 154 orders set in 2005. In November, Emirates ordered 50 777-300ERs worth $18 billion, one of the largest orders by dollar value ever. The 777 production rate rose to seven per month for the first time since May 2010. In November Boeing began assembly of its 1,000th 777, scheduled for delivery to Emirates this March. In December the FAA approved 330-minute ETOPS for the GE-powered 777 fleet. During the fourth quarter, the program delivered its 50th 777 Freighter (to FedEx Express) and its 300th 777-300ER (to Biman Bangladesh Airlines).

787

The fourth quarter saw ANA put its first 787 into revenue service and the airline took delivery of two more Dreamliners. ZA001, the first Dreamliner, flew to New Zealand and Australia— and the 787 began an around-the-world Dream Tour. In December the Dreamliner set world records for speed and distance.

Commercial Aviation Services

The Boeing China Service Center, which provides maintenance and engineering support to China’s growing commercial aviation industry, opened in Beijing in October. In November, CAS signed its 50th customer for Airplane Health Management, a software system that gives airlines real-time, predictive maintenance information. In December, Boeing announced its 50th order for a 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter.

As a former engineer, I still miss the hands on part of bringing an airplane to life. But recently, I had the chance to work on a production line using the “lean” manufacturing techniques we talk about all the time. Okay, so we weren’t building airplanes. But I teamed up with other members of Boeing’s leadership team during a retreat in Arizona to build 202 bikes in 90 minutes.

A great team from Boeing gets to work. That’s me on the bottom right.

The Build-a-Bike event was part of an effort by Boeing to reward children in the Mesa School District. The bike recipients, first and third-graders, were selected based on guidelines established by the school district including attendance and classroom achievement.

The bike building marathon is just one way that Boeing’s Global Corporate Citizenship helps make a difference in the communities where our employees live and work. In total, $147 million from The Boeing Company and its employees were distributed around the world in 2011 through thousands of charitable grants and business sponsorships.

It was truly a pleasure and a lot fun to take part in such a great effort. Congratulations to those deserving students in Mesa and enjoy the bikes!