Torn

I've always liked Boeing. For years I've derived a strange pleasure from its victories over Airbus, agreed with Boeing that its new 787 "Dreamliner" was a much better bet on the future than the behemoth Airbus A380, and cringed when I heard that one or another airline placed an order for the A380. Honestly, who would want to queue up, board, and fly on a plane with 500 other people? And didn't Europe need to learn a lesson about the folly of subsidizing, designing, and producing an airplane by international agreement among Airbus's host nations rather than relying on marketing necessities, engineering dictates, and passenger preferences?

Thanks...but no thanks.
I think I'll wait for a smaller one.

Now I find myself in an odd spot. Boeing is competing with a consortium led by Northrup Grumman and EADS (the parent company of Airbus) for a contract to build airborne refueling planes. If the Northrup Grumman-EADS group wins, they will assemble the tankers in my hometown of Mobile. More important than the over 1,000 new jobs involved would be the change in mentality that might emerge in (and about) Mobile.

To be sure, they also need the work in Everett, Washington (and Wichita, Kansas, and elsewhere). But these places' reputations in aviation are already made, and their workforces are diverse and well-educated. For us, it would not just be more work, but a leg up into a different world. And many more people locally would begin to view their lives as connected to the entire globe and not merely to whatever's passing in front of their noses at any moment.

For me personally it might be more advantageous if the tanker weren't to be built here. I've chosen to rent my housing rather than to purchase it in cooperation with a bank. My financial interests should dictate that I favor nothing that might increase competition for rental units and thereby drive up my housing costs. A vast aircraft assembly complex would likely do just that. Already there are construction engineers for the enormous new ThyssenKrupp steel mill living in my apartment complex. If ThyseenKrupp had chosen Louisiana over Alabama for their steel mill, these apartments might be empty and the upward pressure on my rent lessened.

No matter. I'd still much rather see the aircraft assembled here. On some recent flights in and out of Mobile I could already tell that the new steel mill and the Northrup Grumman-EADS partnership were bringing in many new passengers -- which will mean more direct flight opportunities and an increased international presence here. Furthermore, working at a tax-supported institution leads me to see great benefits in anything that will improve our local and state economies, whose upswings lead directly to increased appropriations for our schools and universities. And I'd also like to see more of our students have the opportunity to work for international companies at home upon graduation.

The Northrup Grumman KC-45A
Would It Make a Small Southern City?

Still, I do like Boeing. Sure, it's triumphed over (destroyed) all domestic competition in building large commercial airliners. And it's doing all right in many ventures unrelated to building aircraft. But because of a long history of rooting for their success, it pains me to see them lose a contract, any contract, even the one for the tanker. If it works out that way, I hope it's only because the competing aircraft is much better. Given Boeing's long history supplying the Air Force and its immense political clout, I can imagine it losing only if a competitor offered a truly outstanding product. While we all await the outcome of the endless tanker procurement process, perhaps uniquely among everyone watching closely I'm going to be pleased no matter what, but also sad no matter what.

The Boeing KC-767
To those who have, shall more be given?