Boeing is reportedly considering selling its commercial-airliner headquarters in an effort to cut costs and stockpile cash.
The company is weighing a sale of its Longacres industrial park campus in Renton, Washington, which is used by managers in the jetliner division, as well as a building once used to train airline pilots, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
'We’re still working through an assessment,' a Boeing spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'Boeing continually assesses the company’s entire portfolio of real estate property assets and adjusts the company’s footprint as the business environment evolves. Boeing Commercial Airplanes leadership will remain in the Seattle region.'
Boeing purchased the 212-acre Longacres site, formerly a horse racing track, in the 1990s and converted it into an office park.
Boeing is weighing a sale of its Longacres industrial park campus in Renton, Washington, which is used by managers in the jetliner division
If a sale were completed, managers of the commercial airliner division would be moved into vacant offices in a nearby plant, according to Bloomberg.
'The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected air travel and the commercial aviation industry, including Boeing,' Boeing said in a statement.
'As we adapt to new market realities and position for the future, we are taking action across the company in five key categories: infrastructure; overhead and organizational structure; portfolio and investment mix; supply chain health; and operational excellence,' the company said.
'That includes evaluating ways to more effectively utilize our office space and reduce costs. Additionally, we can offer more flexibility for our teammates with a combination of virtual and on-site work space, while also ensuring that leaders and teams are closer to where the work is being done to support our customers.'
Meanwhile, Europe's aviation regulator is closing in on a decision to allow the Boeing 737 Max to return to the air after it was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes, according to a report Friday.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency's executive director, Patrick Ky, said he is satisfied that changes to the jet have made it safe enough to return to the skies before the end of the year, Bloomberg reported.
He was quoted as saying that 'our analysis is showing that this is safe, and the level of safety reached is high enough for us.'
Ky said the development of a further sensor will take 20 to 24 months, and the agency had discussed with Boeing 'the fact that with the third sensor, we could reach even higher safety levels,' Bloomberg reported.
Grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington in July
EASA said that the article was accurate. It said in an emailed response to questions that it is 'currently in the process of reviewing the final documents ahead of a proposed Airworthiness Directive for the Boeing 737 Max that is expected to be published next month for public consultation.' After that is concluded, a final airworthiness directive will be published, it said.
Bloomberg reported that the public comment process will take four weeks.
Airlines began using the Max in 2017. There were nearly 400 in service when the planes were grounded after a 2018 crash in Indonesia and a 2019 crash in Ethiopia. Investigators have pointed to the role played by flight-control software called MCAS that pushed the noses of the planes down based on faulty sensor readings.
EASA conducted test flights earlier this year.