Boeing 787
Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The prototype Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Role
Wide-body jet airliner
National
origin
United States, with
international partners
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Status
Production
Unit cost
787-3:
US$150.0–155.5 million[1][2]
787-8: US$161.0–171.5
million[1]
787-9: US$194.0–205.5
million[1]
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized,
wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner currently
under development by Boeing Commercial
Airplanes. It will carry between 210 and 330
passengers depending on variant and seating
configuration. Boeing stated that it will be
more fuel-efficient than earlier Boeing air-
liners and will be the first major airliner to
use composite materials for most of its con-
struction.[3] Boeing’s development of the 787
is also innovative in the collaborative man-
agement approach with suppliers.
On January 28, 2005, the aircraft’s devel-
opment designation 7E7 was changed to the
787.[4] Early released concept images depic-
ted a radical design with highly curved sur-
faces. On April 26, 2005, a year after the
launch of the program, the final look of the
external 787 design was frozen, with a less
rakish nose and a more conventional tail.
Boeing featured its first 787 in a rollout
ceremony on July 8, 2007, at its Everett as-
sembly factory, by which time it had become
the fastest-selling wide-body airliner in his-
tory with nearly 600 orders.[5] A total of 861
787s have been ordered by 56 customers as
of April 2009.[6] Originally scheduled to enter
service in May 2008, production has been
delayed and it is currently scheduled to enter
into service in February 2010.[7][8][9]
Development
Background
In the late 1990s, Boeing began considering
a replacement for the 767 when sales
weakened due to the competing Airbus
A330-200. As sales of the Boeing 747-400
also slowed, the company proposed two new
aircraft, which were the Sonic Cruiser and
the 747X. The Sonic Cruiser would have
achieved higher speeds (approximately Mach
0.98) while burning fuel at the same rate as
the existi