Boeing Unveils 787 "Dreamliner"
Seattle Slew, with jockey Jean Cruget aboard, wins the Belmont Stakes June 11, 1977, in Elmont, N.Y. / AP GraphicsBank
Boeing Co. raised the curtain on its first fully assembled 787 on Sunday before an audience of thousands packed into its widebody assembly plant for the plane's extravagantly orchestrated premiere.
With flight attendants on stage from each airline that has ordered the jet, the giant factory doors opened wide as the plane slowly moved into view to the strains of a theme song composed specially for the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.
"Our journey began some six years ago when we knew we were on the cusp of delivering valuable new technologies that would make an economic difference to our airline customers," Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, told the crowd.
"In our business, that happens every 15 years or so, so you've got to get it right."
Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney said the 787 will bring about a "dramatic improvement in air travel: to make it more affordable, comfortable and convenient for passengers, more efficient and profitable for airlines, and more environmentally progressive for our Earth."
Boeing has won more than 600 orders from customers eager to hold the jet maker to its promise that the midsize, long-haul jet will burn less fuel, be cheaper to maintain and offer more passenger comforts than comparable planes flying today.
The 787, Boeing's first all-new jet since airlines started flying the 777 in 1995, will be the world's first large commercial airplane made mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter, more durable and less prone to corrosion than aluminum.
To date, Boeing has won 677 orders for the 787, selling out delivery positions through 2015, two years after Airbus SAS expects to roll out its competing A350 XWB.
In a rare tip of the hat to the competition, Airbus congratulated Boeing on the 787, whose commercial success has chipped away at the edge the European plane maker once held over its American rival.
"Even if tomorrow Airbus will get back to the business of competing vigorously, today is Boeing's day, a day to celebrate the 787," Airbus co-CEO Louis Gallois said in a letter to Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney on Sunday.
"Today is a great day in aviation history. Whenever such a milestone is reached in our industry it is always a reflection of hard work by dedicated people inspired by the wonder of flight," the letter said.
Airbus customers forced it to do a costly redesign of the A350, which pushed back production. Airbus also has faced problems with its A380 superjumbo, which has been hit with delays that slashed profit projections for Airbus' parent company, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. With flight attendants on stage from each airline that has ordered the jet, the giant factory doors opened wide as the plane slowly moved into view to the strains of a theme song composed specially for the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.
"Our journey began some six years ago when we knew we were on the cusp of delivering valuable new technologies that would make an economic difference to our airline customers," Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, told the crowd.
"In our business, that happens every 15 years or so, so you've got to get it right."
Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney said the 787 will bring about a "dramatic improvement in air travel: to make it more affordable, comfortable and convenient for passengers, more efficient and profitable for airlines, and more environmentally progressive for our Earth."
Boeing has won more than 600 orders from customers eager to hold the jet maker to its promise that the midsize, long-haul jet will burn less fuel, be cheaper to maintain and offer more passenger comforts than comparable planes flying today.
The 787, Boeing's first all-new jet since airlines started flying the 777 in 1995, will be the world's first large commercial airplane made mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter, more durable and less prone to corrosion than aluminum.
To date, Boeing has won 677 orders for the 787, selling out delivery positions through 2015, two years after Airbus SAS expects to roll out its competing A350 XWB.
In a rare tip of the hat to the competition, Airbus congratulated Boeing on the 787, whose commercial success has chipped away at the edge the European plane maker once held over its American rival.
"Even if tomorrow Airbus will get back to the business of competing vigorously, today is Boeing's day, a day to celebrate the 787," Airbus co-CEO Louis Gallois said in a letter to Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney on Sunday.
"Today is a great day in aviation history. Whenever such a milestone is reached in our industry it is always a reflection of hard work by dedicated people inspired by the wonder of flight," the letter said.
Airbus customers forced it to do a costly redesign of the A350, which pushed back production. Airbus also has faced problems with its A380 superjumbo, which has been hit with delays that slashed profit projections for Airbus' parent company, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.
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They didn't really get their hands slapped the first time...
Over 50 million dollars in sponsorship and/or advertising of the news industry each year.
Boeing is reputed to have received (secret) CIA funding for running a business which does the CIA rendition flights.
So, do they also receive (secret) CIA funding for sponsoring favored news programs and personalities?
Probably a question worth asking.
"Now the incident, which resulted in the death of a middle-aged Boeing engineer from acute peritonitis after his colon was perforated during inter-course with a..."
http://www.courierherald.com/articles/2006/07/12/news/news2.txt
, including an industry-wide shortage of fasteners brought on by a surge in demand for new jets in recent years, Boeing officials say nothing so far has threatened to bump the 787 behind schedule. "
Warning: will robinson DANGER! this smacks of RUSH RUSH RUSH, slam bang get er together fast- rush jobs and safety never go hand in hand.
With the as I gather- larger seating capacity- that many more bodies to cart away when one is bown up or crashes.
Putting a lot of eggs in a basket that depends on cheap plentiful FUEL to continue, which it WON'T.
It seems that more and more airlines, mostly the newest, are using the Airbus planes for their short to medium range routes instead of the Boeing aircraft.
JetBlue, Frontier, Skybus all exclusively use Airbus.
I hope that more airlines based in the U.S. will eventually switch over to Boeing. I know it has to do a lot with the cost-per-seat-mile economics when it comes to chosing an aircraft type. But how many of these airline executives factor in the more indirect costs regarding the nations economy and the jobs that would be created (or saved) by chosing a Boeing over an Airbus.
How many more jobs would exist in this country if JetBlue, Skybus, and Frontier all decided to exclusively use Boeing instead of Airbus? This would be an interesting study in economics!
Another side benefit to this is the higher humidity and lower noise level.
Hail to Boeing!
America%u2019s back on top in aviation.
Airbus has some serious competition.