Boeing Launches 787-10 with Commitments for 102 Aircraft

Boeing has launched the 787-10 Dreamliner, the third member of the 787 family.

The manufacturer launched the program on June 18 at the Paris Air Show 2013.

Commitments for 102 aircraft from five customers in Europe, Asia and North America provide a strong foundation to support development and production of the newest Dreamliner, according to Boeing.

Boeing launched the 787-10, the third member of the 787 family, at the Paris Air Show on June 18, 2013, with commitments and orders for 102 aircraft from five customers across Europe, Asia and North America

Customer launch commitments for the Boeing 787-10 include Air Lease Corporation, with 30 aircraft; GE Capital Aviation Services, with 10; International Airlines Group/British Airways, with 12 subject to shareholder approval; Singapore Airlines, with 30; and United Airlines, with 20.

Boeing’s 787-10 will fly up to 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 kilometers) ‒ covering more than 90 per cent of the world’s twin-aisle routes ‒ with seating for 300 to 330 passengers, depending on an airline’s configuration choices.

The second member of the family, the 787-9, is in final assembly at Boeing’s widebody plant in Everett, Washington and is set to make its first flight later this year.

“The 787-10 is 25 per cent more efficient than airplanes of its size today and more than 10 per cent better than anything being offered by the competition for the future,” claims Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ president and CEO.

Airbus has already made exactly the same 25 per cent additional-efficiency claim for the similarly sized A350-900, so one of the two manufacturers may not be in the right.

Design of the 787-10 has already started at Boeing, and international partners will be involved in detailed design in the months ahead. Final assembly and flight test of the 787-10 are set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2018.

According to Boeing, the 787-10 will share a common type rating not only with the 787-8 and 787-9 but also with the popular Boeing 777, giving airlines additional flexibility in scheduling and training flight crews.