On another matter, Bair shed more light on the 787-10.
Alan Mulally, in an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Monday, disclosed that Boeing will eventually add a fourth member to the 787 family. The 787-10 will be a stretch of the 787-9, which is scheduled to enter service in 2010.
Bigger than the 787-8, which will enter service first, the 787-9 will seat about 250 passengers in three classes.
Bair said the 787-10 could seat from 290 to 310 passengers.
Emirates, the fast-growing airline of the United Arab Emirates, has been after Boeing to develop the 787-10.
Qantas, which recently announced it will order a combination of 65 787-8s and 787-9s, is also interested in the 787-10.
Boeing has previously said it would be reluctant to make a 300-seat 787 because that size plane would compete against its best-selling, 300-seat 777- 200ER.
But the market has decided it wants the 787-10, Bair said.
“If you can do a product the market is clamoring for, you would be silly to deny it,” Bair said of the 787-10.
“There is clearly a clamoring for this airplane.”
“We will see,” Bair said when asked if the program will remain under budget. He also said the 787 is a “little more” than 1.5 percent over its weight target, which is better than past Boeing airplane programs at this stage of development.
Boeing will build a total of 112 jets in 2008 and 2009, which is up from the initial plan of 96 those first two years, Bair said. The availability of raw materials is a critical component of production-rate planning. Bair said Boeing has a “watch” on titanium, which will be used on the 787. But supply should not be an issue, he said.
But aluminum is at a “pinch point,” he said. That’s not as critical for the 787 as for some other models, however, because the airframe is mostly composite.
Boeing’s chief supplier of the carbon fiber used for composites needs about two years’ notice to raise capacity, he said.
By: bring_it_on - 25th December 2005 at 07:12
What’s Boeing to do as 787 takes off?If the company ramps up capacity to meet current demand, it might be left hurting if orders drop off later.
TACOMA, Wash. – The unprecedented popularity of Boeing’s newest airliner, the 787 Dreamliner, is creating a dilemma for company executives:
Should Boeing increase early production rates to satisfy the hunger for the new aircraft at therisk of investing in production capacity that could go unused when demand returns to more normal levels?
The revolutionary composite-bodied airliner is scheduled to enter commercial service in 2008. High fuel prices and pressure to lower operating costs have made the 787 a hot item among the world’s airlines.
Boeing has booked firm orders for 254 of the new jets and has secured commitments from airlines for more than 100 more.
And Mike Bair, head of the 787 program, said this week the company could snag even more orders if it could guarantee airlines early deliveries.
The company has tweaked its early production schedule to deliver about 112 787s a year in 2008 and 2009.
To meet that goal, the company will begin producing 787s at a slower rate in 2007 and parking those early planes until the aircraft passes its certification tests in 2008.
Getting ambitious with its production schedule could yield even more orders, but at considerable risk to the company and its suppliers.
New methods
Committing to a fast-paced production schedule with such a revolutionary aircraft could backfire if Boeing or its suppliers encounter unexpected glitches in producing the plane.
The aircraft is the first large airliner to be produced largely of composites rather than metal. Boeing also plans to use a new production scheme that calls for suppliers to produce large pieces of the plane that can be bolted together in three days at Boeing’s final assembly site in Everett, Wash.
New delivery
Large modules will be transported to Everett aboard enlarged 747 freighters. The airborne delivery system — which will gather parts from suppliers’ factories in Europe, Asia and the United States — is new to Boeing. Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita will be one of those suppliers.
New investment
Investing in tooling, creating facilities and training workers for a higher production rate may not be economical if the company has to throttle back production once the initial high demand was satisfied.
In the late 1990s, Boeing attempted a relatively abrupt acceleration
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/business/industries/aviation/13477434.htm
By: Tigerotor77W - 24th December 2005 at 18:07
Hmm, I was just curious — is the 787 going to have an APU that vents out the side (ala 777) or the typical cone-style exhaust?
By: fightingirish - 24th December 2005 at 14:10
B787-10 vers A350-900 vers B777-200ER
This is the best quote, I found lately to the topic B787-10: 😉 😀 :diablo:
“The only thing worse than cannibalizing your own market is having your competitor do it,” said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Fairfax, VA-based Teal Group.
Source: ANN – Boeing Talks With Airlines About Bigger, Better 787
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December 24, 2005 at 6:48 am