The Making of Boeing's 787 'Dreamliner'

According to industry analysts, Boeing had only one competitive model in the form of the '777' when compared to Airbus 'A 330' and 'A 340.' (Refer Exhibit II for Boeing's aircraft models). Nils Machemehl, analyst at MM Warburg & Company⁵ summarized the situation, saying, "They (Airbus) have worked well, have good products and a good client structure. With the 777, Boeing has just one modern product in this segment. The 767 and 747 are outdated models."⁶

In December 2002, Boeing announced that it would be developing a super efficient mid-sized aircraft. The company called its new aircraft the '7E7 Dreamliner (E for Efficiency),' to compete with the highly successful A330 model from Airbus.

The 7E7 would have a capacity to carry 200 to 300 passengers up to a distance of 8,500 nautical miles.⁸ In January 2005, Boeing changed the name of the aircraft from 7E7 to 787. The reason was that several Chinese airline companies had placed orders for the 7E7 and '8' was considered a lucky number in China.

Also, this enabled Boeing to continue with the tradition of naming its aircraft in the 700 series, a tradition followed since the manufacture of the 707in the early 1950s. Boeing said the 787 aimed at meeting its customers' need for more fuel-efficient aircraft . The company predicted that the future belonged to mid-sized fuel efficient aircraft as against very large aircraft.