The Periscope Post

Five things to learn about Boeing’s new revolution in air transport

As the Farnborough airshow in the UK gets under way this week, the new Boeing flagship aircraft, the 787, continues to court attention. Having made its first appearance on European soil on Sunday, the much awaited (and two years delayed) Dreamliner heralds a new era in commercial aviation. Here are the five things you need to know about Boeing’s Dreamliner:

1. Fuel efficiency: With a fuselage constructed from innovative and costly carbon fibre, the 250 seater Dreamliner is lighter than other aircrafts. Boieng claims that as a result, it is more energy efficient and will emit 20 percent less carbon dioxide than similar-sized planes. According to The Economist, the plane’s fuel efficiency is “revolutionary”: “This could well persuade airlines to open some direct routes around the globe that they previously deemed uneconomic”, claimed the weekly. The innovative structure of the plane will also enable airlines to “produce nearly half the amount of nitrogen dioxide emissions”, wrote David Robertson in The Times. “The 787 has also been designed to cut engine noise and will be about one quarter as loud as a 747 jumbo jet.”
2. Futurist look, focus on passengers’s well-being: On board the 787 Dreamliner in Farnborough, the Financial Times‘s Daniel Garrahan confirmed that “dynamic lighting, spacious overhead luggage lockers and electronic windowshades with adjusting transparency enhance the aircraft’s functional and futuristic look”. Moreover, the 787’s strong structure will contribute to lessen the cabin’s pressure and reduce the feeling of jet lag. Although it admitted that the interior felt “roomier and moodier” for passengers, The Economist claimed that the 787 was nevertheless “decked out to a pretty standard-looking economy-class specification”.
3. Delivery  delays: Before Boeing’s 787 can become “the workhorse of long-haul travel in the coming decades”, as Robertson wrote  in The Times, the aircraft company needs to catch back on a two year and a half delivery delay. According to commentator Dominique Gallois from Swiss daily Le Temps, this delay was due to a “difficult technological shift of the program, with a large part of the production relying on external suppliers.” And as The Economist pointed out, Boeing’s first 787 delivery will be “at the end of 2010, at the earliest”. So far, Boeing has completed around 25 Dreamliners, but “by early 2012, the Everett plant will be piecing them together at the rate of up to 10 a month”, reported Simmy Richman, from The Independent.
4. Rivalry with Airbus 350: When Boeing launched the 787 in 2004, “it thought it would put the aircraft a few steps ahead of its archrival Airbus, but this was before the delays and the recession”, reported  Gallois in Le Temps. Indeed, its rival Airbus has pulled a similar rabbit out of its hat with the launch of the A350 XWB, a single-aisle long-haul travel aircraft.  As Paul Betts wrote in the FT,  “Airbus came from nowhere, challenged its US rival, and ultimately overtook it.” But the 787 might be the instrument of Boeing’s revenge, suggested Betts.
5. A better market: According to the July 2010 World Airline Report, Boeing’s Dreamliner is likely to benefit from the recovery in passenger numbers and profitability that has led to a resurgence in aircraft orders. It is “great news for the industry”, enthused FT columnist Paul Betts. As the Farnsborough airshow got into full swing, Associated Press reported that Boeing has “notched up a number of sales for its fuel-efficient 787 jetliner”. As of yet at the airshow, “Airbus SAS and Boeing Co won 237 jetliner orders worth $28 billion“, reported Bloomberg.com, which is “more than three times the number announced in Paris a year ago”. Good news for both.