The Boeing Company
(
BA
) is consolidating its North American flight and maintenance
training operations in Miami. As a result of the consolidation,
fight training capabilities in North America, which include 787
flight and maintenance training, will move out of the Seattle
area to Miami.
Boeing intends to relocate all full-flight simulators and other
devices from Seattle to Miami, starting with two 787 training
suites. The consolidation comes on the heels of the company's
focus on customer commitments and its objective of meeting market
demand for Boeing products, services and support.
Also, the growing need for pilot training has compelled the
company to go ahead with a strategic positioning of its global
training network around the world. Boeing believes that the
aviation industry will need 460,000 new pilots and 601,000 new
maintenance technicians in the next 20 years.
Miami is Boeing's largest commercial aviation training campus.
The Miami facility is one of the largest commercial flight
training campuses in the world with 20 simulator bays. The space
currently has only 11 training devices with the capacity to
accommodate 9 additional full-flight simulators. This
consolidation will make Miami the primary flight training
location for Boeing in the Americas. It is an ideal training
location for customers in Latin America as well as the U.S.
Customers from the Middle East and Europe would also stand to
gain from the relocation.
The plan to locate 787 training in Miami was initially announced
in 2008. Miami is a major center and a leader in finance,
commerce, culture, and international trade. Therefore, apart from
providing the best product support and services in the industry,
this initiative would help the company in getting close with its
customers.
As part of a long-term effort to reduce facilities and costs,
Northrop Grumman Corporation
(
NOC
) has also designated five U.S. centers of design and integration
excellence a few days back. The centers will support Northrop's
Aerospace Systems business in the areas of manned aircraft,
unmanned systems, and electronic attack, and integrate work from
elsewhere at sites in Florida, New York, and California.
Based in Chicago, the Boeing Company is a premier jet aircraft
manufacturer and one of the largest defense contractors in the
U.S. The company's customers include domestic and foreign
airlines, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of
Homeland Security, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, other aerospace prime contractors, and certain
U.S. government and commercial communications customers.
Boeing is among the best-positioned in its sector due to its
balanced exposure to commercial aircraft and defense equipment.
With the gradual recovery of the global economy, we believe
freight and passenger traffic will improve going forward.
Overall, the growth momentum will be maintained by its order
backlog, planned production rate increases and a globally
diversified customer base. The company presently retains a
short-term Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other stocks worth considering are
Lockheed Martin Corporation
(
LMT
) and
Alliant Techsystems Inc.
(
ATK
). Both these stocks also carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
ALLIANT TECHSYS (ATK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
BOEING CO (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report
LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
NORTHROP GRUMMN (NOC): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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