Boeing’s Dreamliner Debuts at Korean Air Show

Boeing’s much delayed 787 Dreamliner was finally put on display during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2011, attracting tens of thousands of airplane enthusiasts from all over the country.

Excitement about the Dreamliner has been so great that it quickly became the fastest selling twin-aisle commercial jet in Boeing’s history – 56 customers have ordered a record-breaking 821 Dreamliners, worth roughly $145 billion – before a single plane had even rolled off the assembly line.

With that being said, All Nippon Airways (ANA), one of Japan’s flagship carriers, became the world’s first airline to add the state-of-the-art aircraft to its fleet last month after three years of delay.

Speaking of the hold ups, Scott Fancher, Boeing vice president and GM of the 787 program, points out that the investment in the jet will pay dividends for years to come, and thus temporary hiccups in production shouldn’t be that big of a concern.

“We really have delivered a game-changer to the marketplace,” says Fancher “We’ve made an investment in a set of technology that will be with us for 20 to 30 years and serve as a basis for the development of our new airplanes as we go forward.”

In addition to being 20-percent more fuel-efficient, compared to other aircraft of the same size, the 787 Dreamliner also releases 20-percent less carbon dioxide and flies 15-percent faster because it is made of ultra-light carbon fiber.

The Dreamliner’s unique makeup also won’t corrode as easily as other jets, making it 30% less costly to maintain, Boeing says.

“This is a huge leap,” says Jon Ostrower, editor of Flightblogger.com, who has chronicled the Dreamliner program. “If it’s not a revolution, it’s a very significant evolution of the way we’re used to flying and the way we’re used to seeing airplanes put together.”

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is schedule to make its first flight carrying passengers On Wednesday, when All Nippon Airways flies from Tokyo to Hong Kong with 264 travelers on board.

via USA Today