Boeing 787 - Dreamliner

The aircraft was designed to be more efficient and cost effective to operate than similar sized models, in order to accommodate with the lower cost operational requirements of airlines nowadays. The Dreamliner is also the first airliner to use a composite material on the majority of its build, which makes the aircraft lighter and less likely to have rust issues compared to the traditional metal birds. Here we explore the history behind this historical day for Boeing.

B787's Initiatives

The B787’s initial was to be a more efficient aircraft with enhanced technology, which would bring down its customers operation costs. This was a crucial decision for rescuing Boeing’s credibility from two major abandoned projects since 2000, namely the Sonic Cruiser and the 747-X. It is an important new product for Boeing in it's ambition to regain it's first position in the aircraft manufacturing market from it’s strong and fast growing competitor, Airbus.

(Lawrence & Thornton, 2005 ⁴)

Key features of B787 that was intended to achieve improved efficiency (compared to same-sized aircraft)

• 20% more fuel efficient
• costs 30% less in maintenance
• extracts 35% less power with its innovative architectural structure
• 50% of composite materials (carbon fiber reinforced plastic)- a recyclable, lighter plastic material and requires less maintenance
• smaller in size but can travel at the same speed as a B747
• generates 10% better cash seat mile costs to airlines
• generates 60% more cargo capacity

(Boeing, 2009 ¹) & (Kemp, 2006 

B787's Fact Sheet

Family

• 787-3: 290-330 passengers

The 787-3 is the short-range variation of the 787 family with winglets and shorter wingspan; its range is between 2,500 to 3,050 nautical miles; this would be the ideal aircraft to service shorter routes within the region, and allow airlines to operate their closer destinations with a lower cost compared to similar sized aircraft types.
This aircraft variation particularly attracts low-cost carriers and also a preferred option for full-service airlines to substitute their mid-sized aircraft in order to reduce operational costs and be able to be more competitive to their low-cost competitors.

• 787-8: 210-250 passengers

The 787-8 is the base model and most popular version of the 787 family, and had made its maiden flight on 15th December, 2009. It has a range of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles (14,200 to 15,200 kilometers) which is capable of making long journeys comparable to even large-sized aircraft.

The aircraft is targeted to allow its customers travel it’s long-haul distances into hubs that may not have the facility to accommodate large aircraft; apart from the targeted cost-effectiveness that the aircraft is designed to achieve, this may potentially mean airlines that wish to fly point-to-point services into secondary hubs to save airport charges and avoid congestion in many popular airports and gain strategic advantage by purchasing the 787-8 fleet.

• 787-9: 250-290 passengers

The 787-9 is the extended variation in the 787 family, and provides the largest range of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (14,800 to 15,750 kilometers). This variation has a lengthened fuselage and a higher fuel capacity compared to the base model. This will allow more capacity for cargo, and the capability of stretching further destinations for point-to-point services.

This variation will potentially bring more revenue sources to it’s customers as the aircraft has a longer fuselage enabling airlines to carry more cargo per flight, or change the configuration to carry more passengers if the load factor for that route has such demand. The 787-9 is targeted for airlines that wish to replace their larger fleet without cutting down on their current capacity, but to be more cost-efficient.

• Refer to Boeing for list of individual specifications.

B787 Orders

Below reflects a summary of total orders placed and cancellations between the periods of 2003-2010.

Year	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010 (through 16, March)	Total
Gross Orders	56	235	160	369	94	24	25	963
Cancellations	0	14	27	26	24	83	10	184

(Boeing, 2010 ²)

B787’s Interior

The interior of the B787 had been specifically designed to increase comfort of travellers and flexibility to airline customers to the way they prefer to deliver their brand.

• Take a tour to the B787 interior with an introduction by Boeing’s marketing personnel
• Mood lights:

The mood light settings such as cabin colours, or timing of light changing to represent sunrise and sunset allows airlines to create differentiation between cabins and class; and also deliver an environment to their customers that reflects the time of the day to help passengers adjust their biological clock and increase comfort during the flight. The cabin lights are aligned over the ceiling and along the sidewalls, and use full colour spectrum LED lights so airlines can easily customise their lighting with a range of colours to choose from.

• Large windows:

The revolutionary concept is that the Dreamliner will have 48cm (19-inch) wide windows that eliminate the traditional plastic shades so passengers can have the widest view during the flight amongst all other airliners. In substitution of the conventional plastic shades are electric chromic films between the glasses of the windows, passengers can adjust the degree of tint on their window and therefore will be able to still view the outside while their neighbour is resting; this feature will also benefit cabin crew as they will have control over all shades and can adjust to their safety requirements during taking off and landing without disturbing passengers.

• Larger stowbins:

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