Having faced a catalogue of setbacks and problems, aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s brand new 787 Dreamliner has finally touched down in the UK for the bi-annual Farnborough International Airshow, a mere two years after it was due to launch. The aircraft has been delayed by everything from parts shortages to badly installed components, but with a crafty marketing campaign targeting end-users rather than the usual airline honchos, it looks like Boeing will still have a bulging order book after the airshow.

Despite the delays, the Dreamliner already has more orders than the rival Airbus A380 ‘superjumbo’. It’s a bit of a triumph for Boeing – although the 787 only seats an average of 330 passengers compared with the Airbus’ 800-odd, the two planes are competing visions for the ‘future of aviation’. And the Dreamliner seems to have the significant advantage in that you don’t have to rebuild the airport in order to fit it in…

The success of the aircraft might be due in part to its recession-friendly price tag (the average cost of a Dreamliner is about $180m, compared with the A380’s $326m), but also thanks to its marketing campaign, aimed at drumming up hype from passengers. Not only is the Dreamliner greener (it’s made of a plastic composite, which makes it lighter and less fuel-hungry than its aluminium rival), but its jazzy mood-lighting and quiet cabin all appeal to flying aficionados. Even its name is designed to appeal to the end-user: who wouldn’t be tempted by a flight on the Dreamliner?

But the aircraft’s going to have to work hard to live up to its moniker: in hindsight, Boeing’s management may well be regretting the decision to outsource most of its manufacture from its Seattle-based factory. As a result of problems caused by its complex supply chain, the plane’s maiden flight was set back more than two years, from August 2007 to December 2009.

The first planes were set to enter service at the end of this year, but after it discovered ‘improperly installed’ parts on some of the planes’ horizontal stabilizers (the small wings on the tail of the aircraft), Boeing has admitted delivery may well be set back until 2011.

That said, the company’s management seems quietly confident that the Farnborough Airshow, the largest in Europe, will swell its order book nicely: at the moment, Boeing has 860 planes on order from airlines in 56 countries, but the company said it expects a ‘healthy increase’ in orders after Farnborough.

One of those new customers might well be easyJet, which is going to have to take drastic measures to boost its punctuality figures. Numbers published over the weekend showed just 48% of its international flights took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time – that’s worse than Air Zimbabwe, which at least managed 50%. It’s also significantly worse than British Airways, which may be beset by strikes, but still managed to get 85.7% of its flights departing on time. A spokesperson blamed striking air-traffic controllers in Italian, Greek and French airspace. Hmm.

Still, if the first deliveries of the Dreamliner do take place within the next few months, easyJet might be able do something about it. The airline could be in for a bit of a wait, though: the first of the aircraft are due to be delivered to Japanese airline All Nippon, and will apparently be equipped with Japanese-style toilets. Not necessarily something we’d like to try out during turbulence, mind you…

In today's bulletin:
Fraud costs record £1bn so far this year
Boeing's Dreamliner touches down in UK
Cable sticks the boot into the banks - again
Sweet £658m deal makes Ward cocoa king - bar none
Salary increases 'below inflation'

blog comments powered by Disqus