Boeing management team's visit to Moscow reveals little, but reaffirms its commitment to Russia

Published: 10/14/1999

A recent visit by Boeing to Moscow, to review its joint programmes with the Russian aerospace programme, seems to have been a rather low-key affair. Boeing has been vocal about its continuing commitment to Russia, in spite of economic difficulties, and its various cooperative agreements, such as the redesign of parts in the 777-200, are continuing (www.concise.org. 26th August 1999). The company was apparently keen to establish that the new government would support joint projects agreed under former President's Stepashin's leadership. At the press briefing, Boeing remained tight-lipped about its reputedly massive orders for Russian titanium. In private, it was conceded that these orders are more valuable than the cooperative research. An initial order, placed with VSMPO, estimated to be $175m - $200m has since been reportedly revised up, but officials have refused to give details of its current status. According to Robert Spitzer, Vice-President for engineering, the share of Russian titanium in newly-built Boeing airplanes is around 20%-30%, depending on type. Boeing also privately acknowledges that the potential for trans- and cross-polar routes from the Pacific Rim to the USA via the Russian territories has perhaps been over-estimated, at least in the immediate future, owing to the lack of suitable diversion airports in Russia and the investment still needed to create an adequate aircraft support system (www.concise.org. 25th August 1999). However, it remains optimistic about the ultimate value of the new routes, which can reduce the flight time from Singapore to the USA by four hours.

Article ID: 973