Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour

Wow! I was very surprised by the quality of the tour and by the shear size of the factory– our tour guide Amanda was impressively knowledgable and super friendly, shoutout to her!

Definitely for nerds. My husband loved the planes (aerospace engineer) and I loved the building (civil/​facilities engineer). A little bit for everything. The tour guide was super enthusiastic and even admitted, he’s on the Boeing kool-​aid.
Definitely a lot of walking. So be aware, but they do provide alternative transportation.
The museum itself was pretty cool. Have a little section for 3-​D printing, a kids section and an rooftop terrace to oversee the campus.

Fascinating tour of current Boeing planes under construction with a splash of aviation history sprinkled in. Personally lacking the mechanical ability chip, it was awesome to observe the engineering feats of those who construct some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. The assembly line is an engineering feat in and of itself. Even if you’re not «into» aviation, this is an interesting tour.

IF IT’S NOT BOEING… I´M NOT GOING…
Eso lo resume todo. Y es que aunque discrepe un poco con la frase, la realidad es que el museo y la factoría es IMPRESIONANTE. Para los grandes freaks de la aviación como yo, esto es el paraíso.
Está a unos 40 minutos de Seattle en coche, puedes comprar las entradas allí mismo o bien por internet (son 17,70 €). El pase incluye la entrada a un pequeño museo y a las instalaciones donde fabrican el 787 – 900 Dreamliner, el 747 y el 777, vamos las principales joyas de Boeing.
Malas noticias: NO PERMITEN HACER NI FOTOS NI VIDEOS DENTRO DE LAS INSTALACIONES, debes dejar todas tus pertenencias en unas taquillas que hay en la entrada, pero al menos cuando acabas y las recuperas tienes un par de juguetitos de los que puedes llevarte un recuerdo fotográfico.
Hay un guía que te explica todo el proceso, al final se hace un poco pesado pero la verdad es que es muy completo.
Lo mejor viene también en la tienda de recuerdos… casi me traigo la tienda entera!
En el museo tienen un simulador de vuelo pero hay que pagar (8 $) y puedes salir a la terraza para ver despegar a los aviones.
Yo tuve la suerte de ver las pruebas de frenado de un 777 y fue impresionante!

Definitely recommended for any engineering/​aviation nuts like me, but my less-​enthused family members really enjoyed their time here as well. Bought our tickets a few days ahead of time, and thank goodness because there was a lot of tourists trying to get in. The ticket includes the Boeing facilities tour and admission to the Museum of Flight Aviation Center.
The Boeing factory tour took us to the 747, 777, and 787 final assembly lines. They put you on a bus and they take you to various buildings and assembly lines. It’s quite impressive to see the sheer scale of these aircraft, and the sheer scale of the building itself as well. You can catch a glimpse of the different aircraft in various stages of assembly.
Note that there is a very strict no photos or video recording policy, so leave your electronic devices in your car or in the lockers located in the lobby prior to entry.
The Future of Flight museum is relatively small, but cool to visit nonetheless. They have full size GEnx engines and carbon fiber composite materials on display from their 787 Dreamliner. They also have a really interesting concept cabin mockup on display that you can sit in as well.
Definitely recommended for anyone who is even remotely interested in aviation.

First, Future of Flight differs from the Museum of Flight. Future of Flight is located in Mukilteo, WA, immediately west of Everett, WA and adjacent to Paine Field from where the products assembled here first take to the sky. Future of Flight is an endeavor by the Boeing Company that allows you to tour their actual factory for wide bodied aircraft, and ancillary buildings that support that, including a visitor center, museum, café, gift shop, and bookstore. On the other hand, the Museum of Flight is in Seattle proper, to the west of the King County Airport (Boeing Field). I have only been to one, that being Future of Flight, and chose this tour between the two because this venue allows one to tour the actual production facility as it’s functioning.
I will start right off by saying that it was tough to decide if Future of Flight should get a 4 or a 5 star rating. I will default to a 4 for a few reasons. The biggest disappointment is that photo taking on the tour is not allowed. This is understandable. One is touring an actual production line. It isn’t like the Johnson Space Center in H-​town where, because the operations being displayed have been decommissioned, one can take their camera out and take photos. The other reason is that, because you probably won’t go again and again, it might make one a fan, or at the very least incredibly impressed, yet not exemplify the requirement that it’s as good as things get. Thus, Future of Flight easily earns its 4 stars.
Future of Flight is all about superlatives. You will get to tour what I believe is the largest building in the world under one roof. Once you get close it and the tour is underway, this will become apparent. In this building are enormous bays that allow for the production of 4 Boeing aircraft — the new 787 Dreamliner, the successful 777, the newest variant of the 747 (the «8-​Intercontinental»), and the retention of a line dedicated to the 767, which is still purchased by government and private concerns instead of commercial airlines. In these bays, these planes move forward and parts are attached to, lifted up to, and dropped into place onto them from above. The plant is so big that, in between segments of the tour related to a specific aircraft type, a bus takes you to the next aircraft bay. When in the building, there are tunnels that split the mammoth factory into bays and then elevators that take you up to various levels so you can literally look down on the aircraft being assembled. While not quite like the effect from a skyscraper, the people scurrying around below do look like ants, though I’m sure they wouldn’t want to hear that.
Most of the action takes place here. However, across the roadway and adjacent to Paine Field’s runways are other areas and buildings where the planes are finished out, including the application of the livery. This side of the freeway, which the plane reaches by a bridge that goes over the freeway you use to get there, is where the final handshake takes place. If you think it’s a neat-​o feeling when you drive that new car off the lot, the delivery here involves lots of documents, lots of fanfare, and having the new owner’s flight crew take that new plane elsewhere in the globe from Paine Field.
The amount of information, and that would include trivia, is staggering. Future of Flight is a very interesting tour. Also, there is the visitor center, museum, café, and store where one can learn more about these planes at their leisure and, in these places, can take photos. There are many exhibits in the visitor center and museum, some of which are interactive.
The price is reasonable for what you get to see and given how much it probably costs Boeing to provide this wonderful venue. The cost can be defrayed by a minimal amount by purchasing the tickets on line and, while the AAA/​CAA card is not accepted, the price is slightly lower in the off season should you purchase tickets at the door since the Seattle area has a very tightly defined summer tourist season.
Future of Flight is a must if in and around Seattle and are a fan of commercial aircraft. The tour alone will cause your jaw to drop. So will learning (at the end of the tour) how much the sticker prices for these «heavies» are.

If you’re into aviation, then I would highly recommend taking the Boeing Tour.
Buy your tickets online as it’s cheaper than buying at the door, and get there a little bit early — you’ll be able to walk around the gallery area to get all up in the space of some older aircraft equipment pieces, from turbines to engines. Connected to the gallery is the rooftop deck, in which you can get a fantastic panoramic view of the runways and mountain backdrop.
Don’t bother bringing your phone with you on the tour — the operators are pretty strict about it, and from when I asked, it’s confiscated and submitted to the government for examination. Yikes. Plus, there’s free lockers at the front entrance anyway, so you might as well lock them up there.
Anyway, the tour itself is very interesting — the facility is absolutely gigantic, and it’s so neat to see planes before they are completely assembled. My biggest gripe, though, is that you don’t get to see much of the assembly of the plane, although this is probably due to the fact that I went on a weekend. Definitely opt for a weekday to see the hustle and bustle of the floor.
Although I probably wouldn’t come back in future visits to Seattle (Mukilteo is about 30 minutes from Downtown Seattle, too!), it’s a fun morning/​afternoon activity, especially for the plane buffs in your life.

Want to witness the process of commercial jet assembly… sign up of this tour
$ 16 per person
Quick stop at roof deck for pictures of air strip before the tour… no phones or cameras allowed on the tour, cash operated lockers available at entrance.
Bus takes you to factory grounds, walk with tour guide through several sections of factory where different 7×7 class jets are in various stages of assembly…
Jets that are ready for delivery feature airline name and their overall order number… so cool
(Written by husband)

Excellent 1.5 hour tour of some of the Boeing factory. Totally remarkable and worth it. Just amazing to see the huge hangars. A must-​see.

Great attraction. I had this on my bucket list for years along with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and toured both within a week of each other. I booked my tickets ahead of time which I advise for everyone to do as there were plenty of tourists asking for tour tickets and they were sold out for the day. Another hint for people with small children; make sure all of your kids are above the minimum height. Its a long way to come to be disappointed.
The museum itself was a great time exploring many thing about Boeing. The gift shop has a lot of merchandise so be prepared to buy several things before you leave.
The tour itself was a great tour of the Boeing plant. We got to see many aspects of building the 747 along with many 787s. If you’re into planes this is a must place to visit.

The good:
— awesome tour full of beautiful birds
— sky deck with excellent views of the factory and runway
— discounted, advanced reservations online
— Boeing Store!
— free parking!
The bad
— locker rentals, almost a necessity, are really expensive
— Future of Flight museum area very underwhelming
— high prices overall (given)
The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour is a MUST for any AvGeek, or anyone interested in aviation, when visiting Seattle. The wife and I made our first visit this past October, having had booked our tickets and chosen our time months ahead of time online. This, by the way, is the best way to buy your tickets so you can get the time/​date that you want, can show up shortly before the tour begins, and even get a little discount.
Of course the unfortunate thing about the tour is that no cameras, cell phones, electronics period, are allowed on the tour. You may store your stuff in your car (yeah right!) or in the lockers… BUT, the lockers are limited in size and, while not expensive, they aren’t cheap either. After lining up, you’re assigned a group and lead into the auditorium. There you’re given a survey about Boeing to complete, get briefed on rules, and watch a video. Then it’s off to the buses based on your group.
Once on the buses, you’re driven over to the assembly lines. On the way you can get buzzed by aircraft coming in for a landing (cool!!), can see aircraft in various stages of completeness outside, and can see the pain shop. Right now the tour includes assembly lines for both the 747 – 8 and the 787s. Both are viewed from a walkway a few stories above the the assembly line. The walkways are rather narrow, so be sure to grab a vantage point as quickly as possible! The height off the floor makes the aircraft look small, giving you a great appreciation of how big the building is, especially if you stood next to one of these birds on the ground before.
Once the tour is complete it’s back on the bus for a rid back to the Boeing Store. Prices are pretty high in the store, but it’s easy to go crazy as an AvGeek! The other gift shop isn’t so great…
The Future of Flight Museum itself is, well, pretty underwhelming. There are very few displays, and those that are interactive, often have a long wait. The best part of the museum, in my opinion, is the sky deck overlooking the runway and Boeing’s facilities. I could spend hours up there, but there’s many more things to do an see!
Definitely worth a visit if you’re interested and have the time. Even though we’ve done it once, I’d love to go on the factory tour again. But even if we don’t, I’d probably still make it a point to head up there and just do some spotting from the parking lot.

This is a great tour. Worth the money. You get on buses to go to the factory. You get to go in at two spots up to tourist areas where you can see out on everything. Great tour guide knew a lot of info. You can take NOTHING on this tour, so be prepared to leave everything in the car or lockers at the museum. No cameras. No purses. No cell phones. Our winter tour wasn’t crowded, but I hear summer is packed full.
The museum is tiny, but has a small kids area that was a lot of fun. Several displays to walk and look at. The draw here is the tour and it was fascinating. This was something I brought my kids to experience, but I think I had way more fun.

One of the most magnificent places I’ve ever been to. It’s amazing to see what humans are capable of and this Boeing tour showed me things of size and scale beyond my imagination.
This tour is worth every penny. I learned so much during this tour and really changed my way of looking at planes and flying in general. Now every time I get into a plane, this place comes to mind and I think of everything that went into making such remarkable machines.

If you have even the slightest interest in planes, I recommend you check this place out! Get tickets to the 1.5 hour tour ($ 16 if purchased online, $ 18 at the door) to see the assembly lines for the 747, 777, and the 787 (Dreamliner)! It’s amazing to learn about and see how these massive machines are made.
The facility is enormous — Disneyland could fit in the plot space, and there would still be room for a large parking lot. During the tour, you won’t be able to get up close to the plane parts (each plane costs around $ 200 Million, so this is probably for the best…). Instead, you’ll be up about 3 floors high. This is a much better vantage point to see the process.
Other notes:
–Future of Flight is located about 40 minutes north of Seattle, and there isn’t any good public transportation to get to the center. Rent a car or get an Über.
–There is a height minimum for the tour, so make sure your little ones meet that minimum if you plan to take them with you.
–No cameras or phones allowed. There’s a photo booth in the museum, so you’ll be able to take a digital photo to get a free picture of yourself in the assembly area :-)

If you have ever flown in your life, you absolutely need to come here and do the tour! You get to learn how planes are actually made from an idea to actually being flown by their respective companies. It is out 40 minutes away from Seattle but car rental or a car sharing ride can easily get you in and out of the area.
100% recommend this place to everyone visiting Seattle, since chances are you most likely flew a Boeing once in your life.
I was just bummed I had missed the R2D2 plane by couple days! But it was amazing to see 75% of the world fleet for the Boeing Dreamlifters.

Well. I was disappointed because my 5 year old wasn’t tall enough to take the tour. We had to sit in the café and do the «mini» tour instead. That sucked.
While wasting time, I noticed an employee «wasting time»…and I have really wrestled with whether or not to post the pic. That’s right, I took a pic of an employee shirking on their duties. — With that said, I do not want to get anyone fired, because the spot for kids under 4′ tall — is kinda lame.
Wha’d ya think? Should I post the pic?

25 miles north of Seattle… it’s a wonderful tour. It lasts roughly an hour and a half. They strictly repeat… no photos or videos. In fact, they make you rent a locker to put your personal items in because there’s no photos on the tour and in the factory. Good thing they only charge $ 1 to rent a locker.
Before you enter the visitors center where you buy tickets, you can watch planes take off and land on a real, active runway right where you park!!! The flights aren’t often, and a lot of the flights are test flights, or training flights, but you get a great view of parked planes and the open fresh air of Mukelito! When I visited back in April, it was a beautiful 64 degree, clear and crisp day.
For the tour, it’s about $ 18. You get on a bus that takes you inside the factories of real, live, planes being made to order. They take you to 3 factories… I believe from what I remember it’s the 747’s, 767’s, and finally their new 777’s. The factories are enormous with roughly 3 — 4 planes being constructed at a time. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly and answers everyone’s questions. But remember no photos… though I wish we could.
At the end they leave you in the souvenir shop. But overall, it was an educational and very interesting tour to take if you’re near the Seattle area. I started my tour of the North Cascades Loop here and it was a great way to get my vacation (journey) going.

If you love traveling or anything that has to do with operations or assembly lines, you better do this tour! This isn’t fantasy like what you see in Disneyland, but an awesome warehouse where planes are being built. The tour guide that we had was nice. He thoroughly explained the history and what’s going on in the warehouse. It’s such a wonder seeing the Boeing assembly lines.
Definitely a must visit during your stay in Seattle. It’s 30 – 40 mins away from downtown.

Where do I begin? If you book your tickets online it costs $ 18, but if you buy it in person, it’s $ 20. Save $ 2 and buy your tickets online!!!
When you walk in, there are lockers to the right and left of you, what is it for? For you to put your phone and purse, bag, water, any electronics. Why? Because they said so and that is the rule!
First you watch a video and get into a bus and walk, if walking is a problem, there’s a golf cart that will take you on a route that is less walking.
The tour is pretty interesting and you learn a lot of things. I never knew a lot of things. I don’t want to spoil it for you. After the tour, you walk into the gift shop where they have a $ 7 plus tax toy plane, which I bought because I’m a sucker.
Afterwards, you can go upstairs where the deck is and take pictures or go downstairs and check out the gallery. They have a model of an airplane nose or some engine motors or even toys and games for the little one.

I love this place. The museum is small but its quite interesting. I love the open layout of the place. As well, you can see some of their old planes and yes they also show the inside for some. Inside meaning the mechanical wiring part.
I love the gift shop especially. Bought a plane and put it together. It was nice and sturdy. As well the gift shop is reasonable price for what you are buying.
I do in fact wish this place is bigger and as well they charge seperately. The main museum for $ 10 and if you want to look at older planes its another $ 15 and if you want to go for the tour you have to pay another extra.
But I did have a great time at this place.

OK so those of you who like to travel and been on planes numerous times can really appreciate this. This is where most of the magic takes place, the Boeing ASSEMBLY PLANT! Here is where the classic 747 and the super cool 787 Dreamliner’s are built.
This place is in Guinness Book of Records for the largest building in the world, and holy crap it is huge, they told us you can fit 12 Empire State buildings inside the factory building. It has its own little airfield and we got to see the Dreamlifter, a beluga looking plane where the airframes are transported in.
It is about a 45 minute drive from Seattle, its an easy drive, nice scenery. Parking is a piece of cake, directly in front of the building. There is a pretty cool display before the actual tour starts that shows an airplane engine and the inside of their business jets. They even have a kiosk where you can take your picture and print it (with your ticket recipe).
There is a half hour liability and security presentation then they loaded us on a bus and off we went to the assembly plant. Pretty awesome, got to see the planes being built and saw Air New Zealand’s first 787 still on the assembly line!
If your in the Seattle area its well worth the visit to check out a man made wonder and watch is being built.

Boeing produziert bei Everett einen wesentlichen Teil seiner zivilen Flugzeuge und bietet eine Besichtigungstour durch die Produktionshallen an. Startpunkt einer solchen Tour ist das Future of Flight Aviation Center mit einer interessanten Ausstellung, einem gutsortierten Shop, einen Café, … Die Besichtigung beginnt mit einem typischen Promotionfilm in dem Aviation Center und dann geht es mit einem Bus auf das Produktionsgelände. Es ist schon eindrucksvoll zu sehen, wie in dem Gebäude mit dem weltweit größten Volumen (13.385.378 Kubikmeter) die Flugzeuge gebaut werden. Schnell stellt man auch als Besucher fest, welche Welten zwischen den Bauweise der Boeing 747 (Erstflug 1969) und eines Dreamliners 787 liegen.
Mehr unter unter

Future of Flight für eine Werksbesichtigung ein ganz schön hochgegriffener Titel. Aber so kennen wir ja die Amerikaner ;)
Wer Flugzeuge sehen will, hat zwei Möglichkeiten: Zum einen gibt es etwas südlich von Seattle, etwa auf halbem Wege zwischen Downtown und Seattle-​Airport das Museum of Flight: www​.qype​.com/​p​l​a​c​e/460 603-​Boeing-​Museum-​Of-​Flight-​Seattle und etwa 45min nördlich von Seattle das Future of Flight. Bei letzt genanntem sollte man sich keine Illusionen machen: Der Teil Future of Flight ist lediglich eine kleinere Ausstellungshalle mit ein paar Exponanten und im Grunde nur Zeitvertreib, während man auf die Boeing Tour wartet.
Die Boeing Tour selber findet etwa alle 30min statt. Tickets kann man sowohl vor Ort kaufen als auch im Internet vorbestellen. Die Vorbestellung kann sehr ratsam sein, wenn man nicht gewillt ist, teilweise mehrstündige Wartezeiten in Kauf zu nehmen. (Kommt man um die Wartezeit nicht drum herum, empfiehlt sich evtl. ein Besuch der Outlet-​Mall, etwa 20min weiter nördlich am Interstate.)
Mit 18USD je Person ist die Tour für amerikanische Verhältnisse im normalen Rahmen.
Die Tourgruppen umfassen etwa 30 – 50 Personen und werden nach einer Taschenkontrolle (keine Kameras erlaubt!) in ein kleines Kino geführt, wo sich der Tourguide vorstellt und einen etwa 15min dauernden Film über die Boeing Flugzeuge zeigt. Im Anschluß geht es in einen Bus, der einen zur Montagehalle fährt. Die Montagehalle wird durch Tunnel betreten, die einen zu Fahrstühlen im inneren führen, mit denen man auf eine Art Plattform fährt. Hier wird die umliegende Produktion vorgestellt.
Nach dem Besuch einer weiteren Plattform bringt einen der Bus wieder zurück zum Ausgangsort, wo die Tour im Souvenir-​Shop endet.
Alles in allem eine sehr amerikanische Tour: Die Guides, meist ältere (ehemalige?) Boeing Mitarbeiter, führen gut gelaunt und mit Élan die Touren. Der Informationsgehalt und das –niveau orientieren sich am Durschnittsbüger, so dass für technisch Interessierte oder gar Luftfahrtexperten wenig erhellendes geboten wird. Dem gegenüber steht aber die beeindruckende, riesengroße Halle in der in der Tat große Jumbos wie Regionalflugzeuge wirken.

Als Ex-​Berliner war man stolz auf den wunderschönen Flughafen Tempelhof, der sehr lange Zeit das größte zusammenhängende Gebäudeensemble der Welt war, aber die größte Montagehalle der Welt steht nur 50 km von Seattle in Everett bei den Boing Werken. Der Firmensitz ist in Chicago, aber hier werden die Riesenvögel montiert. Mehrere Jumbos in einer Halle sehen hier aus wie Matchboxautos im Schuhkarton. Dimensionen, die das Vorstellungsvermögen sprengen. Selbstverständlich gibt es hier dauernd guided tours durch das Gelände und einen schönen Boeing Souvenirshop (aber das ist in den USA selbstverständlich). Man darf sich hier auch gerne bewußt werden, daß auch dieses Meisterwerk einen deutschen Ursprung hat, den ausgewanderten Ingenieur Herrn Böing.