Order News

On February 19, 2007, Air New Zealand finalized an order for an additional four 787-9s. The order total is now 468 total from 37 customers. On the 19th, Boeing also finalized a deal with LOT Polish Airlines for one additional 787, bringing their total to eight. The Dreamliner launch is set to become the most successful launch of any commercial aircraft ever. Boeing has seen more orders from international airlines than expected. Kenya, Jet, and Aeromexico have all recently added their names to the list of potential customers. Expect the number of interntaional orders to grow within the coming year as the launch nears.

Bad News for Boeing

Earlier mentioned within this blog was the use of composite materials for the construction of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner. Development has hit a snag with the most resent round of destructive testing. During a simulation of a bird strike, where a bird carcase was shot at a section of the wing the composite skin of the that section shattered. This is tremendous set back as engineers begin the search for a solution.

Finally, The Building Begins

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the first sections of the first 787 forward fuselage and its center wheel built in Japan, are being air-freighted to Boeing's factory in South Carolina. Obviously, these sections are too big for UPS or FedEx to ship, so Boeing created a LCF transport aircraft known as the DreamLifter. There are currently only two DreamLifters made out of three DreamLifters intended for shipping 787 parts. The first DreamLifter wasn't even painted when it started shipping the 787 parts around. That's how relentlessly Boeing is trying to keep the 787 on schedule. Besides having parts from Japan, Boeing also assign other companies around the world to design different parts of the 787. The nose of the 787 is made in Kanas, while center fuselage is created in Italy. The final assembly of the 787 will take place at Boeing's factory in Everett, Washington. All Nippon Airways and a Japanese carrier have placed orders for the 787. So far so good for Boeing.