Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, also called the Boeing 787, is a wide-body jet built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was first announced on January 29, 2003, as the 7E7, with a strong emphasis on fuel efficiency. The program officially began on April 26, 2004, after All Nippon Airways (ANA) placed an order for 50 aircraft, with an initial target for service entry in 2008. A prototype without major operating systems was shown on July 8, 2007, but multiple delays pushed the first flight to December 15, 2009. The 787-8 received type certification in August 2011, was delivered to ANA the following month, and entered commercial service in October 2011.

Boeing aimed for the 787 to use 20% less fuel than similar planes like the Boeing 767. It can carry between 200 and 300 passengers on point-to-point routes up to 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi), moving away from the traditional hub-and-spoke model. The twinjet uses General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 high-bypass turbofan engines. It is the first airliner with a mostly composite airframe and relies more on electrical systems than previous models. Externally, it features a four-window cockpit, raked wingtips, and chevrons on the engine nacelles to reduce noise. More than earlier Boeing aircraft, its development and production depend on subcontractors worldwide. Final assembly moved to the Boeing South Carolina factory in March 2021; before that, it was done at the Boeing Everett Factory in Washington state.

The initial 787-8 is 186 feet (57 m) long, typically seats 248 passengers, and has a range of 7,305 nautical miles (13,529 km; 8,406 mi) with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 502,500 lb (227.9 t). Later variants have a higher MTOW of 560,000 lb (250 t). The stretched 787-9, at 206 feet (63 m), can fly 7,565 nautical miles (14,010 km; 8,706 mi) with 296 passengers; it entered service with ANA on August 7, 2014. The further stretched 787-10, 224 feet (68 m) long, seats 336 and has a range of 6,330 nautical miles (11,720 km; 7,280 mi); it began service with Singapore Airlines on April 3, 2018.

Early operations faced problems with the aircraft's lithium-ion batteries, including fires. In January 2013, the U.S. FAA grounded all 787s until a revised battery design was approved in April 2013. Starting in 2019, significant quality control issues led to a production slowdown and, from January 2021 to August 2022, an almost complete halt in deliveries. The first fatal crash and hull loss occurred on June 12, 2025, with Air India Flight 171. A preliminary report on July 12 from the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau did not recommend any actions for Boeing or 787 operators. Boeing has spent $32 billion on the program; estimates for the number of sales needed to break even range from 1,300 to 2,000. As of July 2026, the 787 program has received 2,453 orders and made 1,299 deliveries.

**Development**

In the late 1990s, slowing sales of the 767 and 747-400 led Boeing to consider replacements. Two proposals emerged: the 747X, which would have lengthened the 747-400 and improved efficiency, and the Sonic Cruiser, designed for speeds around Mach 0.98 while burning fuel at the same rate as the 767. Interest in the 747X was weak; several major U.S. airlines, including Continental, showed early enthusiasm for the Sonic Cruiser, though concerns about operating costs arose. The 9/11 attacks and rising oil prices shifted airline priorities toward efficiency over speed. The worst-hit airlines, mostly in the United States, were seen as the Sonic Cruiser's main customers, so the project was canceled on December 20, 2002. On January 29, 2003, Boeing announced the 7E7, which would use Sonic Cruiser technology in a more conventional design. The focus on a smaller midsize twinjet instead of a large 747-sized plane reflected a move from hub-and-spoke to point-to-point travel, based on focus group analysis.

Randy Baseler, a Boeing vice-president of marketing, noted that airport congestion comes from many regional jets and small single-aisle planes flying to destinations where a 550-seat Airbus A380 would be too large. He argued that making these smaller planes 20% larger and using point-to-point routes could reduce the number of such departures and avoid hubs.

In 2003, James McNerney, then a new Boeing board member, supported the idea of a new aircraft to regain market share from Airbus. (He became CEO in 2005.) The board, including CEO Harry Stonecipher and John McDonnell, gave an ultimatum: develop the plane for less than 40% of the 777's development cost from 13 years earlier, and build each plane for less than 60% of the 777's unit costs in 2003. They approved a development budget of about $7 billion, with Boeing management saying they would require subcontractors to cover most costs. Alan Mulally, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and former 777 program manager, contrasted the approval process with that of the 777, stating that in the past the board would negotiate a budget, but now they set a fixed amount and told the team, "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."