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FEATURECountdownAn inside look at a first-of-model’s frenetic delivery schedule; it’s pressure,it’s stressful, but Cathay Pacific is over the moon with its first B777-300ERBy Barry Grindrodin SeattleBoeing Commercial AirplaneGroup’s senior sales director,Chris Morgan, was smilingfrom ear to ear. For the firsttime in weeks, in fact months,the pressure was off ... until the next deliverythat is.Indeed, it was celebrations all roundamong Cathay executives, led by chiefexecutive Tony Tyler, and VIPs and mediaguests as Cathay’s first of 23 B777-300ERsheaded out of Seattle on the 13-hour journeyback to Hong Kong.The plane had taken off, albeit a little laterthan planned, and was operating flawlessly.The customer was happy. The manufacturerwas happy.But wind the clock back to earlier in theday and Chris Morgan’s blood pressure hadbeen rising fast. As the official party packedtheir bags in their Seattle hotels and preparedto leave for the formal delivery ceremony, itwas a very different story on board Cathayaircraft B-KPA.As the countdown to zero hour neared anearly morning phone call from the deliverycentre at Paine Field just outside Seattlerevealed the scene on board the aircraftresembled “a combat zone”. “There weresome seat issues,” said Morgan. “We allknow how uncomfortable it can be whenboarding a plane, can you imagine whatit would be like for a full shift of peopleworking on the seats in the aisles and tryingto beat deadline?“The guys did a fantastic job and thething is they do it time and time again as weprepare for the delivery flights. It’s par forthe course, particularly for a carrier’s ‘firstof model.”Imagine. Cathay started talking withBoeing about what was to become theB777-300ER back in 1990 – 17 years ago!The first B777 model, the B777-200, was onthe drawing board at the time and Cathay hadBoeing Commercial Airplane Group president, Scott Carson (left) and thecompany vice-president sales, Larry Dickenson, (right) present CathayPacific CEO, Tony Tyler, with a model of the B777-300ER at a celebratorydelivery dinner in Seattleidentified that they would eventually need abigger plane with more range.And when negotiations started in earnestfor the US$250 million aircraft about fouryears ago the Hong Kong-based globalBoeing senior sales director, ChrisMorgan: ‘the guys did a fantastic jobin the hours before the handover ofthe plane’carrier already had earmarked the B777-300ER for its ultra long-haul non-stop routessuch as Hong Kong-New York.The all-important contract was naileddown two years ago and that, said Morgan,was when the pressure really started tobuild.“To start with, we identify a month todeliver [the ordered aircraft] and then startto narrow that time period down. It’s likethe birth of a child. The doctor gives youa certain date but this can vary by a fewdays through circumstances beyond yourcontrol,” said Morgan.The ‘gestation’ period, f rom thebeginning of the assembly line to handovertakes eight to 10 months. This includes themonumental task of putting together aboutthree million parts from 900 suppliers in 17countries and fitting about 500 kms of wiringon board.Before that process starts the aircraft hasto be configured, a long and arduous task. Anew model like Cathay’s B777-300ER couldinvolve new installations from the “front of44 ORIENT AVIATION NOVEMBER 2007
the plane to the stabilizer”, said Morgan. InCathay’s case it included their new multimilliondollar, state-of-the-art three classupgrade and inflight entertainment suite.“This is a huge undertaking on the partof the suppliers, the purchaser and Boeingwhich has to integrate the process,” saidMorgan.Aircraft these days are designed oncomputer screens. “This is particularlychallenging because you have to transferthe plane from the computer to the realworld and there are always some surprises,”said Morgan.Seat complications are not uncommon.The manufacturer ideally likes to install theseats on board the new aircraft before thefuselage’s final body join. It makes it easy.But the seat manufacturers do not alwaysdeliver on schedule, which results in a timeconsuming task of dismantling rows of seatsto put them through the doors of the aircraftand then reassemble them inside.And so, after years in negotiation,planning and building, the final days tohandover arrive. Few people know about thefrenetic countdown and even fewer see it.Tanjer Gillard, Boeing’s senior operationsmanager for B777 pre-flight and delivery,experiences it all the time. “Always expectthe unexpected. In the last 10 days theenvironment was changing all the time onCathay’s 777,” he said. Seat issues and IFEcertification complicated matters.Final paperwork is prepared and submittedto the regulators for approval in this period.The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) has an office at Paine Field to performfinal certification. “Just when you think youhave done everything and take the FAA to theplane, its possible they will find somethingunexpected, something simple. It can be verystressful,” said Gillard.Three days before handover the final testflights begin. The first Boeing productiontest flight, or B1 as the manufacturer calls it,involves Boeing test pilots taking to the airfor a final check. If corrections are required asecond flight, B2, will be made and so on.Thirty six hours before the handover,Boeing achieved a first with Cathay’s B777-300ER; three test flights, each two and a halfhours long, in one day. It started with a B2flight, followed by an FAA first-of-modelcertification flight. Finally, Cathay pilotsflew for a final customer check flight.“There were no squawks [issues] on anyof them. The FAA and Cathay gave us thethumbs up. That was fantastic,” said Morgan.Cathay Pacific’s director of engineering,Chris Gibbs, holds the keys to thenew B777-300ER aloftProduction manager Paul Hoeper said it wasthe first time in 20 years he had known threesuccessful delivery test flights in one day.“It certainly helped ease the pressure,but there was still a lot to do on the ground,”said Morgan.Three shifts a day – about 80 staff – hadbeen working on the new B777 after it rolledout of the factory. The shifts worked roundthe clock. Two days before delivery a fourthcrew was added to help meet the deliveryschedule. And those pesky seats again werecreating problems.A morning take-off to Hong Kong wasput back to an afternoon take-off, whichprovided an extra few hours shopping inSeattle for Cathay’s guests (smiles all round)and for Boeing engineers to complete theirwork on B-KPA.Before boarding the plane, 17 years afterwhat is now the realisation of the B777-300ER first described by Cathay, numberone of 23 of the aircraft type destined for theairline was handed to chief executive TonyTyler with the ceremonial presentation of theaircraft’s keys (they usually lock the cockpitdoor) and the traditional lion dance.Teamwork the keyWhat wasn’t known by the VIPs as theytoasted Cathay’s bright new acquisitionwas that the plane had only been ‘ticketed’,awarded its certificate of airworthiness bythe FAA, less than half an hour before theceremony.“That was our most rewarding momentafter all the hard work,” said Gillard.“We have a special working relationshipwith Cathay. They are very flexible, veryaccommodating and positive. We werepleased we got the job done for them ontime.”With the all-important transfer of title andfinal financial details completed, all that wasleft to do before departure for Hong Kongwas to hand three big boxes of paperwork –maintenance logs, flight manuals, operationsmanuals and the certificate of airworthiness– to Cathay’s director of engineering, ChrisGibbs.And so to history in the making: theB777-300ER taxied and took off to applauseboth on the plane and on the ground as theaircraft flew west across the Pacific.Thirteen hours later, when the planetouched down in Hong Kong Boeing’s fieldengineers were on hand. They had little to do– a temperature control valve in a crew restneeded some adjustment!Chris Morgan was a happy man. TonyTyler had been effusive all week about hisnew planes and his enthusiasm continuedunabated in Hong Kong. “These are superbaircraft that will form the back-bone of ourlong-haul fleet in the coming years,” he toldthe media.And as Orient Aviation went to pressChris Morgan and his team were preparingfor the delivery of B777-300ER number twoto Cathay! “It gets easier after the first-ofmodel,”he said. That must be a relief.Cathay Pacific’s director of engineering, Chris Gibbs, paid tribute to the “workingtogether” spirit of Boeing, Cathay and the vendors in Seattle. “It was a privilegeto be there for the delivery,” he said.Cathay has an on-site manager, John Dugaro, based in the city. Two weeks before adelivery 10 engineers travel from Hong Kong to carry out quality inspections. Much ofthis relates to seats and IFE, said Gibbs. As the countdown continues a flight operationsteam moves into Seattle with three or four test pilots who fly the plane anywhere betweenonce and several times before delivery. The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Departmentrepresentatives also need to certify the plane before it can return home.The financiers and lawyers are among the last to arrive to complete the legal andfinancial paperwork. Finally, a Cathay line engineer signs the plane’s log and the carrieragrees to accept the jet. “We left on the delivery date set months earlier,” said Gibbs.NOVEMBER 2007 ORIENT AVIATION 45
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