(header image copyright Boeing)
Crikey, it’s that time. Tuesday 29th August
A bit of last minute sightseeing today here in Seattle. We joined an organised tour to the Boeing factory in Everett just outside of Seattle. It was well worth it. Before our allocated time slot for the factory tour we took a look around the exhibit hall which includes a full sized 777 jet engine, a cross section of an 787 fuselage and various other parts of Boeing aircraft.
The factory operates 24 hours a day, with approx 20,000 people working in a single shift, most of which are in the main production facility which is the world’s largest building. We weren’t allowed to take cameras or phones into that building but frankly it would have been difficult to capture the vastness of the building. From overhead gantries we viewed the production line of the 747, 777 and 787 aircraft. You simply cannot get your head around the sheer size of the factory. With a floor area of 4.3 million square feet and a total volume of 472 million cubic feet, it swallows up large numbers of these large aircraft in their various stages of construction. If you ever have the chance to board one of these via steps instead of an air bridge only then can you appreciate their bulk. Looking down on a factory floor with four 747s in a line you suddenly start to appreciate how big the building actually is. Apparently all of Disneyland Florida can fit into the building with over 12 acres of spare space.
The afternoon we took a final look around some different parts of the city, first stop being the Amazon HQ. The company employs 25,000 people at its headquarters here in Seattle, and according to their website, 20% of them walk to work. The company continues to expand here in Seattle and is forecast to occupy 20% of available prime office real estate around the city. Amazon also wants to bring back some nature to the downtown area with the creation of some Eden-project like biomes called the Amazon Spheres.
Amazon are starting up their Amazon Go service here which promises to provide the next generation of retail experience. The focus is initially food, something the company is making a key priority moving forward. Only last week did they announce they have bought the Whole Foods Market group.
An evening packing for us tonight in advance of our flights back to Bristol via Schiphol tomorrow.