Owning a 787

For airlines interested in the Boeing 787, the first major obstacle is cost. The most basic model, the 787-3 is listed at between $138-143 million US dollars. The more capable 787-8 is listed at US $148-158 million. Lastly, the long-range 787-9 is listed at $179-188 million in US currency. The 787 will hold nearly 33,258 gallons of fuel when fully loaded for long haul trips. Airlines must determine if the demand will cover their costs. However, an advantage to owning the 787 is that it is interchangeable between General Electric and Rolls Royce Engines. The engine market alone for the 787 is estimated to top $40 billion. Airlines have been pleased to know that the 787 is a two-pilot crew with easier training than previous models. This will also help to keep operating costs low. One of the unknown benefits of owning a 787 is that the cabin is made of components that are immune to corrosion. This will allow the 787 to be kept at a higher humidity and further increase passenger comfort. The overall improved comfort of passengers in both coach and business class will make flying on the 787 a pleasure. This will clearly help to offset some of the costs of ownership.

New Age; New Construction

With the new design of the 787 several new technologies will also be incorporated in the design. the most "cutting-edge" is the use of composite materials rather then aluminum. According to Boeing almost half of the construction of the fuselage and wings of the 787 will be of composite materials. Other technologies contributing to the cutting-edge of the program are the power plants. Both General Electric and Rolls-Royce have been contracted by Boeing to culminate that latest in gas turbine engine technology to develop an entirely new engine design for new 787 fleet of aircraft. All partners in the joint venture are expecting an unprecedented 8% jump in efficiency. The new 787 should be lighter and more fuel efficient then anything before it making it far more cheaper to operate as it can carry more payload, farther, for less fuel.

Information is courtesy of Boeing Corporate Web Page

Boeing's Shift to the Digital Age

Despite growing competition with Airbus, Boeing is changing the way it assembles the 787. Instead of the old pencil-drawing blueprints, Boeing is going high-tech. What I mean by high-tech is Boeing simulated a realistic virtual rollout of the 787 through its entire production stages as a way to keep the real production on schedule. After assembling all of the parts of the 787 separately, the manufactures will assemble the parts together piece by piece in a four-station plan produced by the virtual simulation. Boeing’s new virtual simulation keeps the manufactures and the company on the same page and helps increase the production flow. The first 787 will take several months to build, but the hundredth 787 will take about six days to build. Boeing has further ambitions to decrease the assembly process to only three days, but I think that six days is very good. Boeing isn’t focusing on the speed of the production, but rather the efficiency of the aircraft.

Information of the 787 production taken from Aviation Weekly & Space Technology

Background on the 787

With many Boeing 767 and Airbus A300/310 models reaching the 20+ years of service mark, Boeing decided it was time to develop a very efficient replacement. Boeing created a twin-engine widebody capable of using 20% less fuel than current models. Boeing's design team in Everett Washington came up with three different models (-3 -8 -9) for the new 787 Dreamliner family. The 787-3 was designed primarily for high-density shorter-range flights. With seating of 290-330 passengers, the model will easily replace the 767-300 and DC-10s flying these routes. The 787-8 is a small long-range aircraft that will carry 200-215 passengers up to 8,000 NM. Lastly, the 787-9 will serve as a much longer ultra-range aircraft carrying 250-290 passengers up to 8,800 miles. With 21 airlines having ordered the models so far, Boeing is confident the 787 Dreamliner will help them maintain a greater market share over rival Airbus. Production has already begun and first entry into service is expected in 2008.