Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, which focused largely on efficiency. The program was launched on April 26, 2004, with an order for 50 aircraft from All Nippon Airways, targeting a 2008 introduction.
On July 8, 2007, a prototype 787 without major operating systems was rolled out; subsequently the aircraft experienced multiple delays, until its maiden flight on December 15, 2009.
Type certification was received in August 2011, and the first 787-8 was delivered in September 2011 and entered commercial service on October 26, 2011, with ANA.
At launch, Boeing targeted the 787 with 20% less fuel burn compared to aircraft like the Boeing 767. It could carry 200 to 300 passengers on point-to-point routes up to, a shift from hub-and-spoke travel.
The twinjet is powered by General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 high-bypass turbofans. It is the first airliner with an airframe primarily made of composite materials and makes greater use of electrical systems.
Externally, it is recognizable by its four-window cockpit, raked wingtips, and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles.
Development and production rely on subcontractors around the world more than for previous Boeing aircraft. Since March 2021 final assembly has been at the Boeing South Carolina factory; it was formerly in the Boeing Everett Factory in Washington State.
The initial 787-8 typically seats 248 passengers over a range of, with a MTOW compared to for later variants.
The stretched 787-9, long, can fly with 296 passengers; it entered service on August 7, 2014, with All Nippon Airways.
The further stretched 787-10, long, seating 336 over, entered service with Singapore Airlines on April 3, 2018.
Early 787 operations encountered several [|problems] caused mainly by its lithium-ion batteries, including fires onboard some aircraft. In January 2013, the US FAA grounded all 787s until it approved the revised battery design in April 2013. Significant quality control issues from 2019 onward caused a production slowdown and, from January 2021 until August 2022, an almost total cessation of deliveries.
The first fatal crash and hull loss of the aircraft occurred on June 12, 2025, with Air India Flight 171. A preliminary report issued on July 12 by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau did not recommend any actions to Boeing, or 787 operators.
Boeing has spent $32 billion on the program; estimates for the number of aircraft sales needed to break even vary between 1,300 and 2,000.
, the 787 program has received 2,325 orders and made 1,249 deliveries.
Development
Background
During the late 1990s, Boeing considered replacement aircraft programs due to slowing sales of the 767 and 747-400. Two new aircraft were proposed. The 747X would have lengthened the 747-400 and improved efficiency, and the Sonic Cruiser would have achieved 15% higher speeds while burning fuel at the same rate as the 767. Market interest for the 747X was tepid; several major American airlines, including Continental Airlines, showed initial enthusiasm for the Sonic Cruiser, although concerns about the operating cost were also expressed. The global airline-market was disrupted by the 9/11 attacks and increased petroleum prices, making airlines more interested in efficiency than speed. The worst-affected airlines, those in the United States, had been considered the most likely customers of the Sonic Cruiser; thus the Sonic Cruiser was officially canceled on December 20, 2002. On January 29, 2003, Boeing announced an alternative product, the 7E7, using Sonic Cruiser technology in a more conventional configuration. The emphasis on a smaller midsize twinjet rather than a large 747-size aircraft represented a shift from the hub-and-spoke theory toward the point-to-point theory, in response to analysis of focus groups.Randy Baseler, Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP Marketing stated that airport congestion comes from large numbers of regional jets and small single-aisles, flying to destinations where a 550-seat Airbus A380 would be too large; to reduce the number of departures, smaller airplanes can increase by 20% in size and airline hubs can be avoided with point-to-point transit.
In 2003, a recent addition to the Boeing board of directors, James McNerney, supported the need for a new aircraft to regain market share from Airbus. The directors on Boeing's board, Harry Stonecipher and John McDonnell issued an ultimatum to "develop the plane for less than 40 percent of what the 777 had cost to develop 13 years earlier, and build each plane out of the gate for less than 60 percent of the 777's unit costs in 2003", and approved a development budget estimated at US$7 billion as Boeing management claimed that they would "require subcontractors to foot the majority of costs." Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Alan Mulally, who had previously served as general manager of the 777 programs contrasted the difference in the approval process by the board between the 777 and 787 saying "In the old days, you would go to the board and ask for X amount of money, and they'd counter with Y amount of money, and then you'd settle on a number, and that's what you'd use to develop the plane. These days, you go to the board, and they say, 'Here's the budget for this airplane, and we'll be taking this piece of it off the top, and you get what's left; don't fuck up.'"
The replacement for the Sonic Cruiser project was named "7E7". Technology from the Sonic Cruiser and 7E7 was to be used as part of Boeing's project to replace its entire airliner product line, an endeavor called the Yellowstone Project. Early concept images of the 7E7 included rakish cockpit windows, a dropped nose, and a distinctive "shark-fin" tail. The "E" was said to stand for various things, such as "efficiency" or "environmentally friendly". In the end, Boeing said it stood for "Eight". In July 2003, a public naming competition was held for the 7E7, for which out of 500,000 votes cast online the winning title was Dreamliner. Other names included eLiner, Global Cruiser, and Stratoclimber.
On April 26, 2004, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways became the launch customer for the 787, announcing a firm order for 50 aircraft with deliveries to begin in late 2008. The ANA order was initially specified as 30 787-3, 290–330 seat, one-class domestic aircraft, and 20 787-8, long-haul, 210–250 seat, two-class aircraft for regional international routes such as Tokyo-Narita to Beijing-Capital, and could perform routes to cities not previously served, such as Denver, Moscow, and New Delhi. The 787-3 and 787-8 were to be the initial variants, with the 787-9 entering service in 2010.
On October 5, 2012, Indian state carrier Air India became the first carrier to take possession of a Dreamliner that was manufactured in the Charleston, South Carolina, Boeing plant. This was the first 787 that was manufactured outside of Washington. Boeing would go on to use both the Everett and South Carolina plants to deliver the Dreamliner.
The 787 was the first production airliner built with a fuselage comprising one-piece composite barrel sections instead of aluminum-sheet assemblies using many fasteners. Boeing selected two new engines to power the 787, the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and General Electric GEnx. Boeing stated the 787 would be approximately 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the 767, with approximately 40 percent of the efficiency gain from the engines, plus gains from aerodynamic improvements, increased use of lighter-weight composite materials, and advanced systems. The airframe underwent extensive structural testing during its design. The 787-8 and -9 were intended to have a certified 330-minute ETOPS capability, but entered service with 180 minutes. 330-minute certification was delayed until 2014.
During the design phase, the 787 underwent extensive wind tunnel testing at Boeing's Transonic Wind Tunnel, QinetiQ's five-meter wind tunnel at Farnborough, United Kingdom, and NASA Ames Research Center's wind tunnel, as well as at the French aerodynamics research agency, ONERA. The final styling was more conservative than earlier proposals, with the fin, nose, and cockpit windows changed to a more conventional form. By 2005, customer-announced orders and commitments for the 787 reached 237 aircraft. Boeing initially priced the 787-8 variant at US$120 million, a low figure that surprised the industry. By 2007, the list price had increased to US$157–167 million, eventually exceeding US$200 million by the time the aircraft received type certification. Airlines and lessors do not pay the full list price, with market prices for the 787-8 being up to 46% lower.
Manufacturing and suppliers
On December 16, 2003, Boeing announced that the 787 would be assembled in its factory in Everett, Washington. Instead of conventionally building the aircraft from the ground up, the final assembly employed 800 to 1,200 people to join completed subassemblies and integrate systems. Boeing assigned global subcontractors to do more assembly work, delivering completed subassemblies to Boeing for final assembly. This approach was intended to result in a leaner, simpler assembly line and lower inventory, with pre-installed systems reducing final assembly time by three-quarters to three days. Subcontractors had early difficulties procuring needed parts and finishing subassemblies on schedule, leaving remaining assembly work for Boeing to complete as "traveled work". In 2010, Boeing considered in-house construction of the 787-9 tail; the tail of the 787-8 is made by Alenia. The 787 was unprofitable for some subcontractors; Alenia's parent company, Finmeccanica, had a total loss of €750 million on the project.Subcontracted assemblies included wing and center wing box ; horizontal stabilizers ; fuselage sections ; passenger doors ; cargo doors, access doors, and crew escape door ; software development ; floor beams ; wiring ; wing-tips, flap support fairings, wheel well bulkhead, and longerons ; landing gear ; and power distribution and management systems, air conditioning packs.
To speed up deliveries, Boeing modified four used 747-400s into 747 Dreamlifters to transport 787 wings, fuselage sections, and other smaller parts. Japanese industrial participation was key to the project. Japanese companies co-designed and built 35% of the aircraft; the first time that outside firms played a key design role on Boeing airliner wings. The Japanese government supported development with an estimated US$2 billion in loans. On April 26, 2006, Japanese manufacturer Toray Industries and Boeing signed a production agreement involving US$6 billion worth of carbon fiber, extending a 2004 contract. In May 2007, the final assembly on the first 787 began at Everett.
From the outset, 787 chief engineer Walt Gillette and his colleagues realized that the "Working Together" approach to supplier coordination used for the 777 must substantially evolve for the 787. So they created the 787 Dreamliner Partner Council. The council evolved from the Sonic Cruiser effort and a similar approach used in Boeing's defense business unit. The partner council would make 787 decisions together, a departure from Boeing's more hierarchical approach to decision making for the 777. Boeing harnessed not only expertise from the Partner Council, but also benefited from cross-cultural collaboration, according to Walt Gillette, as quoted in The Culture of Collaboration by Evan Rosen.
Boeing worked to reduce excess weight since assembly of the first airframe began; in late 2006, the first six 787s were overweight, with the first aircraft heavier than required. The seventh and subsequent aircraft would be the first 787-8s expected to meet the weight requirement. Accordingly, some parts were redesigned to include more use of titanium. In July 2015, Reuters reported that Boeing was considering reducing the use of titanium to reduce the construction cost.
Early built 787s were overweight, increasing their fuel burn and reducing their maximum range, and some carriers decided to take later aircraft. Boeing struggled to sell these aircraft, eventually offering significant discounts and scrapping one. Because of their line numbers, these aircraft were nicknamed the "Terrible Teens".
Boeing planned the first flight by the end of August 2007 and premiered the first 787 at a rollout ceremony on July 8, 2007. The 787 had 677 orders at this time, which is more orders from launch to roll-out than any previous wide-body airliner. The major systems were not installed at the time; many parts were attached with temporary non-aerospace fasteners requiring replacement with flight fasteners later.
In September 2007, Boeing announced a three-month delay, blaming a shortage of fasteners as well as incomplete software. On October 10, 2007, a second three-month delay to the first flight and a six-month delay to first deliveries were announced due to supply chain problems, a lack of documentation from overseas suppliers, and flight guidance software delays. Less than a week later, Mike Bair, the 787 program manager, was replaced. On January 16, 2008, Boeing announced a third three-month delay to the first flight of the 787, citing insufficient progress on "traveled work". On March 28, 2008, to gain more control over the supply chain, Boeing announced plans to buy Vought Aircraft Industries' interest in Global Aeronautica; a later agreement was also made to buy Vought's factory in North Charleston.
On April 9, 2008, a fourth delay was announced, shifting the maiden flight to the fourth quarter of 2008, and delaying initial deliveries by around 15 months to the third quarter of 2009. The 787-9 variant was postponed to 2012 and the 787-3 variant was to follow at a later date. On November 4, 2008, a fifth delay was announced due to incorrect fastener installation and the Boeing machinists strike, stating that the first test flight would not occur in the fourth quarter of 2008. After assessing the program schedule with suppliers, in December 2008, Boeing stated that the first flight was delayed until the second quarter of 2009. Airlines, such as United Airlines and Air India, stated their intentions to seek compensation from Boeing for the delays.
A secondary factor in the delays faced by the 787 program was the lack of detailed specifications provided to partners and suppliers. In previous programs Boeing had supplied high level design data, but for the 787, decided to provide broad level specifications only, on the assumption that relevant partners had the competencies to perform the design and integration work with the limited data. This decision created several delays as suppliers struggled to work with the limited design data.