EIA for sale?
Boeing drops Oregon operator for its Dreamlifter fleet
Boeing is turning over operation of its four Dreamlifter super-freighters to New York-based Atlas Air, dealing a blow to Oregon-based Evergreen International.
By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
Boeing is transferring the contract to operate its four Dreamlifter super-freighters from Oregon-based Evergreen International to New York-based Atlas Air.
The switch brings some risk of disrupting 787 transport logistics, which Evergreen says it has run smoothly since the first Dreamlifter flew in 2006.
The planes are used 747s in which the upper fuselage was replaced by a bulbous crown so that large sections of the 787 can be ferried around the globe for assembly.
In 2005, Boeing selected Evergreen for a five-year contract to provide flight crews and maintenance for the Dreamlifters. Atlas will take over the operation in September under a nine-year contract.
Atlas will have to train fresh pilots on the Dreamlifter's flight characteristics and bring ground and maintenance crews up to speed on its unique configuration.
Boeing did not respond to questions on the switch by press time.
One factor may be Atlas' pending order for 12 new 747-8 cargo planes.
Because of a severe contraction in the air-cargo market over the last couple of years, Boeing has been negotiating intensely with the initial customers, including Atlas, to reschedule 747-8 deliveries.
The contract loss came as an unexpected blow to Evergreen, which employs about 75 pilots, mechanics and ground crew directly operating the Dreamlifters. An additional 200 work in support positions on the program, about half of those at a maintenance base in Arizona and the other half at headquarters in McMinnville, Ore.
Tim Wahlberg, chairman of holding company Evergreen International Aviation, said Evergreen was never given the chance to bid for renewing the contract.
"We're very disappointed," said Wahlberg. "We ran a perfect operation. We're very price competitive. We believe (the switch) was unrelated to our operation."
Evergreen operates a fleet of 747 cargo jets and heavy-lift helicopters, as well as a 747 aerial firefighting "supertanker." The privately held company flies supplies for the U.S. military into Afghanistan and Iraq and to bases around the world.
The contract loss is badly timed for Evergreen, which is trying to raise money to pare debt by putting up for sale its airline and aircraft-maintenance businesses, a person familiar with the offering said.
Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or
[email protected]