Boeing 787 Dreamliner

[Kenneth T 0]

The window on the B787s is a technologically breakthrough in the aviation industry....would love to be on board this bird soon.

[jani 0]

OT: Is your avatar the wing of an A350 model?

[Saiful Bahari 0]

interior look dull and cheap...probably just for testing purpose?

[Kenneth T 0]

OT: Is your avatar the wing of an A350 model?

 

Nope, by 1st glance i thought it was A350s as well as the aircraft model was displayed at Lufthansa booth at Singapore Air Show. It is a 787s instead

[flee 5]

ZA004 Joins Flight-Test Program

 

 

Boeing media release here:

http://787flighttest.com/za004-joins-flight-test-program/

[Pieter C. 5]

Air Berlin Reduces Boeing 787 Order

 

March 16, 2010

 

Air Berlin, Germany's second-biggest airline after Lufthansa, dropped about USD$1.7 billion worth of firm orders for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft to cut its financial obligations.

 

"With a partnership spirit we have mutually agreed with Boeing to adjust the Air Berlin order book to meet Air Berlin's operational requirements and the market conditions," the company said on Tuesday.

 

Air Berlin cut its firm order to 15 planes from 25 and the number of options for further 787 aircraft to 5 from 10. Each 787 aircraft has a list price of about USD$170 million.

 

In addition, it is deferring delivery of nine Boeing 737 aircraft to 2015 from 2010 or 2011, it said.

 

"For Air Berlin, the agreement means a significant reduction of its financial obligations due to lower and much more distributed investment profile," it said.

 

Air Berlin had already said last year that it could cancel or defer some of its outstanding aircraft orders, which also include 4 Q400s built by Bombardier and 26 A320-family aircraft from Airbus.

 

(Reuters)

[Yusoff 1]

787 Dreamliner completes wing-bending test

 

By Noel McKeegan

00:11 March 30, 2010

 

Flex test - the 787 was subjected to loads 150 percent greater than it can expect to endure during service (Photo: Boeing)

 

If you've ever felt a little queasy watching your plane's wings flex under the strain of being at 10,000 feet, rest assured that they can bend a lot further. Just how much pressure modern airliner wings can take is demonstrated by the latest 787 Dreamliner news from Boeing. During a recent "ultimate-load wing up-bending test," the 787 was subjected to loads 150 percent greater than it can expect to endure during service with the wings flexed upward by approximately 25 feet (7.6 meters) over a period of two hours.

 

Boeing is positive about the initial results of the test although more extensive analysis is required over coming weeks.

 

"We are looking forward to the technical team's report on the details of the test results," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

 

"The test program has been more robust than any conducted on a Boeing commercial jetliner," said Fancher. "It has taken countless hours of hard work by the Boeing team and our partners to work through the static test program."

 

Extreme!!!!...

[Pieter C. 5]

Monarch to maintain TUI 787s as Boeing drops SR Technics from GoldCare team

 

London Luton airport-based Monarch Aircraft Engineering looks to have stolen SR Technics' thunder with its selection by Boeing as the airframe maintenance supplier for 787 GoldCare programme launch customer TUI Travel.

 

Sources close to the programme said at last week's MRO Americas exhibition in Phoenix that Monarch won the deal, announced on 13 April, at TUI's request. Boeing had selected SR as non-exclusive European GoldCare airframe maintenance provider as long ago as July 2006 but, sources say, the two have been embroiled in a dispute over contractual terms.

 

Now, SR is no longer listed as a GoldCare partner, although the Swiss company is thought to be continuing discussions with Boeing about joining the programme.

 

The TUI group is scheduled to begin taking delivery of 787s in early 2012, with 13 aircraft to be maintained by Monarch under GoldCare. Implementation of the GoldCare service will begin about 12 months before delivery. For each of its 787s, TUI has committed to GoldCare for 12 years, which is when the first heavy check for the 787 will be required.

 

Boeing says there is increased interest in GoldCare, which was launched in 2004, now that it has secured a launch customer and that the 787 test-flight programme has begun after several delays. "The whole market was really looking at when the airplane is going to fly. The delays we had in the programme slowed the pace down," it says.

 

"Now that we have TUI announced as the launch customer for GoldCare we really believe the market will become more attuned, more involved and more wanting to engage with GoldCare."

 

Boeing sees most GoldCare customers signing up about 18 months before first delivery. While GoldCare is now only available on the 787, Boeing expects to begin offering the lifecycle maintenance service on at least one other aircraft type later this year.

[Ja Singh 2]

Qatar Airways increased its order for Boeing's (BA.N) new 787 Dreamliner to six from two and expects to take delivery by September next year, the carrier's Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told journalists.

 

 

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/22041/20100504/qatar-air-to-receive-6-boeing-787s-next-year-ceo.htm

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Lets hope QR will deploy any of these 6 aircrafts to SIN (and its tag-on to DPS) or KUL, so that we, Malaysians, can be among the first to experience flying in it.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Mohd Azizul Ramli

[Pieter C. 5]

Boeing Says 787 On Track For 2010 Delivery

 

May 9, 2010

 

Boeing is on track to deliver its first 787 Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways by the end of this year, the company's head of commercial planes said.

 

"Testing is going well. If there are no unexpected discoveries, we'll be on track," said James Albaugh chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

 

Production of the carbon-composite plane was delayed five times in three years, and the first flight was postponed six times, due to a shortage of bolts, faulty design and a two-month strike at its factory.

 

Some market experts have said the delivery schedule for the 787, which made its first test flight in December after two years of delays, is too ambitious. Boeing has received more than 850 orders for the plane.

 

Boeing and rival Airbus received fewer orders in 2009 as carriers around the world were hit by falling travel demand in a sagging economy. But a recovering economy and brighter outlook for airlines point to a stronger 2010.

 

Boeing shares have rallied about 26 percent this year on expectations of a commercial rebound.

 

Commenting on the planned merger of United Airlines parent UAL and Continental Airlines, Albaugh said he expected the carriers to profit from the deal.

 

He sidestepped a question on whether the two airlines could cancel some outstanding aircraft orders as a result of the merger, saying only that he had sent the companies congratulatory notes via email.

 

Both Continental and United have order for Boeing planes, including 35 single-aisle 737s and 50 787s.

 

"I expect they will rationalise their fleets," Albaugh said, without being more specific.

 

Albaugh also said Boeing still plans to announce in June whether it will increase production of its 737 single-aisle plane from its current rate of 31 planes per month. The company has not yet said by how much it would raise the production rate.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Continental to launch service to New Zealand using 787s in 2011

 

May 27, 2010

 

Continental Airlines yesterday announced plans to serve Auckland from its Houston Intercontinental hub beginning Nov. 16, 2011, using a 787 to operate the 7,400-mi route.

 

CO said it is the first airline to "formally announce specific route plans for its 787 fleet." The carrier, which has agreed to merge with United Airlines, has 25 Dreamliners on order with deliveries beginning in August 2011. Subject to government approval, service will be operated daily, with five-times-weekly service during certain periods in the first year of operation, CO said.

 

Also yesterday, CO fully reopened Terminal C at IAH following completion of a $65 million redevelopment project begun in 2008. The renovations added 15,000 sq. ft. to its ticketing and check-in lobby and 56 new self-service kiosks to its existing 59 and upgraded security checkpoints, baggage claim and curbside areas.

 

"The Terminal C renovation represents the airport of the future," SVP-System Operations and Real Estate Holden Shannon said. Though the added kiosks place a larger emphasis on self-service in an effort to "make the check-in process more efficient," CO noted that it has "assigned customer service agents to work in the kiosk areas to guide and help travelers" and that "a full-service check-in counter is still available for those who favor traditional counter service."

 

Redevelopment began in September 2008 and was completed in three phases. CO managed the construction efforts while its partner, the City of Houston, funded the renovations. It is the first major overhaul to the terminal since it opened in 1981. The airline said the facility serves up to 12,000 customers daily.

[flee 5]

Vietnam Airlines expects it will have to wait until 2015 to receive its first Boeing 787 after switching its 16-aircraft order from the -8 to the stretched -9 due to unexpected performance limitations on the original model.

 

The government-owned flag carrier first ordered four 787-8s in 2005 for delivery from 2009. In 2007 Vietnam Airlines ordered four more 787-8s and Vietnam Aircraft Leasing ordered eight 787-8s on behalf of the carrier.

 

Vietnam Airlines CEO Pham Ngoc Minh says its 787 deliveries have since been delayed six times by Boeing and the carrier has had to switch to the -9 because the -8s no longer meet the carrier's performance requirements. Minh explains the -8s are now too heavy to economically operate long-haul routes from Vietnam to Europe and North America.

 

"The -8 doesn't meet the performance guarantee as they told me," Minh told Flightglobal on the sidelines of this week's SkyTeam meeting in New York. "We found the -8 is a heavy -8; it's not the original -8 they committed to."

 

The bigger 787-9, which follows the 787-8 in development, is now scheduled to enter service at the end of 2013. But Minh says Boeing is only offering Vietnam Airlines -9 slots from 2015.

 

He says Vietnam is trying to speak to Boeing about moving up to earlier 787-9 slots but so far it has been difficult to get a firm plan from the manufacturer. "They've delayed six times already. I don't know how many more times they will delay," he says.

 

For now Boeing still lists all 16 787s ordered by Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam Aircraft Leasing as -8s. It is not clear why Boeing has not formally changed the order to -9s but the manufacturer could be waiting to conclude a re-negotiated deal with its Vietnamese customers that may also include new Boeing 777s.

 

Minh says waiting until 2015 "is not our requirement" and "in the interim we continue to negotiate with Boeing".

 

He adds Vietnam Airlines is now looking to expand its Boeing 777-200 and Airbus A330 fleets to fill the gap caused by the extensive delivery delays to its 787s. Vietnam Airlines also has 10 A350-900s on order but Minh says these are not scheduled to be delivered from 2014, or only slightly ahead of the carrier's first 787-9.

 

Minh says Vietnam currently operates 20 widebodies - 10 777-200s and 10 A330s - but its fleet plan includes at least 40 widebody aircraft by 2015. Vietnam requires the 20 additional widebodies over the next five years - plus another 15 to 20 widebodies in the 2015-2020 timeframe - to meet an ambitious expansion plan that will see the carrier launch new routes to Australia, Europe and North America.

 

"With manufacturers it's sometimes difficult for me to push them, especially for next-generation because for next-generation they have certain difficulties. But the market is there and we have an ambitious plan," Minh says. "We can't wait. We have to add more A330s and maybe more 777s until the time we can replace all of it."

 

He adds Vietnam Airlines plans to use its 787-9s and A350-900s on similar missions but the carrier needs to acquire both types because neither manufacturer has enough slots to meet the carrier's requirement for 55 to 60 widebodies by 2020.

 

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/06/24/343611/vietnam-airlines-switches-787-order-to-9s.html

[aaronhiew 0]

Ambitious airline, good for Vietnamese air travellers.

[Pieter C. 5]

Boeing to bring 787 to Farnborough, happy with flight testing progress

 

June 24, 2010

 

Boeing is planning to fly a 787 to next month's Farnborough Airshow before returning it to the US to continue with the flight test program that recently passed the 1,000-hr. mark.

 

While the manufacturer has yet to make a formal announcement, the planning is well advanced to fly flight test aircraft ZA003 to the UK on Sunday July 18 to participate in the show. It will return to the US on July 19 or 20.

 

The 787 flight test program now involves five aircraft, with the GEnx-powered ZA005 completing its first flight last week. The fleet has achieved 1,054 hr. 40 min. in the air, with ZA001 the high-time machine with 384 hr. 20 min. from 139 flights. That number is followed closely by ZA002 with 359 hr. 5 min from 104 flights.

 

In all, the fleet has made 323 flights. The trip to Farnborough will be the first for the Dreamliner outside the US. Boeing said the 787 is now 40% through required test conditions to certify the first version of the aircraft later this year.

 

"More work remains but we are seeing excellent progress," VP and GM-787 Program Scott Fancher said. "Even more important than the hours we've logged are the test conditions we have completed. The team is being very efficient in getting the data we need…It's also important to note that we are making solid progress on the ground testing required on the flight test fleet as well."

 

The final flight test aircraft, GEnx-powered ZA006, is due to fly for the first time on July 13.

[Pieter C. 5]

Boeing To Inspect 787s Before Test Flights

 

June 25, 2010

 

Boeing will inspect its test fleet of 787 Dreamliners before further flights after identifying a "workmanship issue" that affects the jet's horizontal stabilisers, the company said on Thursday.

 

Boeing said it expects the issue will be addressed within the existing programme schedule and the 787 remains on track for the first delivery to All Nippon Airways by the end of this year.

 

Fixing each plane will take up to eight days, the company said in a statement.

 

But Boeing said reports that the fleet was grounded were incorrect. Earlier, the Seattle Times reported the fleet was temporarily grounded but that the planes' flight testing and delivery schedules would not be affected.

 

Production of the carbon-composite plane was delayed five times in three years, and the first flight was postponed six times, because of parts shortages, design problems and a two-month strike at Boeing's factory.

 

Boeing has already received more than 850 orders for the plane.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Boeing To Change Some 787 Delivery Dates

 

June 26, 2010

 

Boeing said on Friday it will alter 787 Dreamliner delivery dates for some customers but the changes will not affect the total number of planned deliveries of the plane in 2010 or 2011.

 

The decision comes after some customers asked for later and others for earlier delivery dates of the 787 to meet their business needs, the general manager of the programme, Scott Fancher said.

 

On what he called a separate issue involving the 787, Fancher said the company was inspecting the company's test fleet of 787s after identifying a problem affecting the horizontal tail. He said inspection teams were also examining all 25 horizontal tails the plane maker currently has in the factory.

 

"When we find workmanship issues like this it's always regrettable but this one is very manageable," Fancher said.

 

He said that the reshuffle of the delivery schedule would affect some aspects of production, leading to "minor adjustments to the assembly flow." This could include giving suppliers more time to improve assembly, quality and productivity, he said.

 

"We're not going to get into the specifics of how we've redistributed the flow but we will be adjusting delivery dates," Fancher said.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Boeing freezes 787-9 configuration

 

July 2, 2010

 

Boeing announced yesterday that it has completed the firm configuration of the 787-9, which it aims to begin delivering in late 2013.

 

"The airplane's structural, propulsion and systems architectures are defined and not changing," VP-787-9 Development Mark Jenks said.

 

The significance of the firm configuration is that it will allow the manufacturer and its suppliers to begin detailed design of parts, assemblies and other systems for the -9, Boeing said. "As detailed designs are completed and released, production can begin," it added.

 

"We have a disciplined process in place to ensure we have completed all of the requirements for the development stage of the program," VP and GM-787 Program Scott Fancher said.

 

The 787-9 will seat 250-290 passengers, 16% more than the 787-8, and will have a range of 8,000-8,500 nm. At 206 ft., it will be 20 ft. longer than the 787-8, with 1,000 cu. ft. more cargo volume. Both Dreamliners feature wingspans of 197 ft., a height of 56 ft. and a cruise speed of Mach 0.85.

[Johan Z 0]

 

787-9 will be 3ft shorter than 777-200 variants.

[Joseph Foong 0]

Dear: Malaysianwings members

 

The first of the JAL(Japan Airlines) boeing 787 has finally come to finalization in assemble line, The aircraft was towing out from the painting hangar, and it will be soon install the engines in the following aircraft and ready to deliver the first B787 for Japan Airlines, Please watch the videos below and the following news about this aicraft :-)

 

 

The first 787 to be painted in JAL colors has emerged from the ATS hangar following change incorporation. The aircraft, which is either Airplane 20 or 21, is registered JA821J. It's entirely possible this is Airplane 21 because it lacks the special decals planned for Airplane 20 based on the drawings submitted by Japanese children.

Edited July 8, 2010 by Joseph Foong

[Johan Z 0]

[Pieter C. 5]

Personally, would have liked the "JAL" titling below the window-line better...

[jani 0]

Other aircraft are test flown etc before being painted, is this different for 787? They do this on purpose, perhaps?

[Johan Z 0]

Yes, you are right, Jani. Maybe for composite frames, paint needs to be applied first. Anyone has a better answer?

 

Anyhow, 787 is a fine looking plane. Love the nose and the engines. Really futuristic.

[Waiping 12]

Talk about taking delivery of your new plane when you are fighting off bankruptcy.