EVERETT, Wash. - Boeing Co. raised the curtain on its first fullyassembled 787 to an audience of thousands who packed into itswidebody assembly plant for the plane's extravagantly orchestratedpremiere.
With flight attendants onstage from each airline that has orderedthe jet, the giant factory doors opened wide Sunday as the planeslowly moved into view to the strains of a theme song composedspecially for the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.
"Our journey began some six years ago when we knew we were on thecusp of delivering valuable new technologies that would make aneconomic difference to our airline customers," Mike Bair, vicepresident and general manager of the 787 program, told the crowd.
"In our business, that happens every 15 years or so, so you've gotto get it right."
Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney said the 787 will bring abouta "dramatic improvement in air travel: to make it more affordable,comfortable and convenient for passengers, more efficient andprofitable for airlines, and more environmentally progressive for ourEarth."
Boeing has won more than 600 orders from customers eager to holdthe jet maker to its promise that the midsize, long-haul jet willburn less fuel, be cheaper to maintain and offer more passengercomforts than comparable planes flying today.
The 787, Boeing's first all-new jet since airlines started flyingthe 777 in 1995, will be the world's first large commercial airplanemade mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter, moredurable and less prone to corrosion than aluminum.
To date, Boeing has won 677 orders for the 787, selling outdelivery positions through 2015, two years after Airbus SAS expectsto roll out its competing A350 XWB. Thirty-five of those orders cameSaturday, with Air Berlin ordering 25 and a Kuwaiti company taking 10for Kuwait Airways.
In a rare tip of the hat to the competition, Airbus congratulatedBoeing on the 787, whose commercial success has chipped away at theedge the European plane maker once held over its Chicago-based rival.
"Even if tomorrow Airbus will get back to the business ofcompeting vigorously, today is Boeing's day - a day to celebrate the787," Airbus co-CEO Louis Gallois said in a letter to McNerney.
"Today is a great day in aviation history. Whenever such amilestone is reached in our industry it is always a reflection ofhard work by dedicated people inspired by the wonder of flight," theletter said.
Airbus customers forced it to redesign the A350, which pushed backproduction. Airbus also has faced problems with its A380 superjumbo,which has been hit with delays that slashed profit projections forAirbus' parent company, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.
Boeing hired former NBC "Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw to serveas master of ceremonies for the 787 premiere - held, probably notcoincidentally, on 7-08-07 - which was broadcast live on the Internetand on satellite television in nine languages to more than 45countries.
Final assembly of the first 787 started in late May, after agigantic, specially outfitted superfreighter started flying wings,fuselage sections and other major parts to Boeing's widebody plant,where they essentially get snapped together, piece by huge piece.
Once production hits full speed, the company expects each plane tospend just three days in final assembly, but this time, Boeingworkers spent several weeks installing electrical wiring and otherinnards that suppliers will eventually stuff into their sections ofthe plane before they're delivered to the assembly plant.
Boeing decided to handle that work in-house for the first fewplanes rather than risk any production delays.
The 787 that debuted Sunday will serve as the first of six flight-test airplanes, while two other planes will be used for static andfatigue tests.
The 787-8, the first of three 787 models Boeing has committed tomaking, has an average list price of $162 million, though customerstypically negotiate discounts on bulk orders.
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