Malaysia Airlines - Orient Aviation

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Boeing bet the future on its B787 Dreamliner and, as the aircraft makes
its public debut this month, it looks certain the U.S. planemaker has hit
the jackpot. TOM BALLANTYNE reports on a Seattle success story.
As Boei ng’s f i r st B787
Dreamliner officially rolls
off the production line at the
Everett plant north of Seattle
this month and makes its
public debut, management knows the jet is
already a phenomenal success.
The order book stood at 634 – and
counting – as Orient Aviation went to press.
Forty-five customers worldwide have already
made the Dreamliner the world’s fastestselling
commercial airplane ever.
The B787 will begin flying next May
with launch customer All Nippon Airways
(ANA) of Japan.
But anyone wanting to buy one today will
have to wait until 2013 before it is delivered.
That’s the same year Airbus’ rival A350
XWB (Extra Wide-Body) is scheduled to
enter commercial service.
How times have changed. Little more than
three years ago Boeing appeared in turmoil.
Rival Airbus was flying high, its new A380
super jumbo was tagged the breakthrough
airliner of the future and its salesmen were
winning the order book battle, overtaking
Boeing for the first time in market share.
Worse, a proposed new Boeing “Sonic
Cruiser”, which would fly at speeds just
under the sound barrier, had met with a
sceptical reaction from customers. Then, in
April 2004, Boeing launched the Dreamliner.
It proved to be a master stroke.
In retrospect, it was all about timing. The
B787 was introduced in an age of desperate
cost reduction as carriers fought intense
competition, soaring fuel prices and rising
costs in all areas of their business. They
were also beginning to face pressure to
reduce noise and lessen harmful emissions
from their aircraft.
More than half the orders
have come from
Asia-Pacific operators
The B787 was the right jet at the right
time, promising just what airliners wanted.
According to Boeing, it has unmatched fuel
efficiency, using 20% less fuel than today’s
similar sized aircraft.
It travels at a speed similar to today’s
fastest widebodies – Mach 0.85 – and
will carry up to 300 passengers more than
15,000 kilometres (9,375 miles). The jet also
produces 20% fewer CO 2 emissions and has
a 60% smaller noise footprint on take-off and
landing than other airplanes in its size and
range category.
Just as important, it offers more comfort
for passengers as air traffic continues to
boom.
The cabin is pressurised to 6,000 feet
(1,830 metres), rather than the normal 8,000
feet (2,440 metres), making for a more
comfortable environment. The cabin will
also be less dry, keeping humidity at around
15% compared to today’s levels, which can
be as low as 2%. There is also sophisticated
software designed to help the aircraft respond
better to turbulence.
More than half the orders – 302 – have
come from Asia-Pacific operators. Apart
from ANA, orders have been placed for
60 aircraft by China to go to six different
carriers, Qantas Airways is buying 45,
Japan Airlines 30, Singapore Airlines 20,
Korean Air 20, Jet Airways 10, Air New
Zealand eight, Air Pacific five and Vietnam
Airlines four.
Several have taken options on dozens
more, including Qantas which has a further
70 in reserve.
The first 10 of Qantas’ planes will go to
low-cost subsidiary Jetstar International,
which will become the first LCC to use the
new plane.
It is not only airlines that are being lured
by the B787. In May, Hong Kong real estate
30 ORIENT AVIATION JULY/AUGUST 2007