The Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its first international flight on Sunday and landed in the UK to participate in the Farnborough International Airshow.

When its competitor Airbus went ahead with its large model the 880+ seater, Airbus A380, (called superjumbo now), Boeing stuck to its plan with a medium sized one, of around 330 seats. But Boeing has not been able to keep up its dates with the delivery of the first Dreamliner. It was due two years back, but it seems that the first delivery to Japan's All Nippon will be delayed further to maybe 2011.

But that does not seem to affect Boeing in any way. They are quite confident that once launched, they can give Airbus a run for their money. It seems despite the delays, the Dreamliner already has more orders than the rival Airbus A380 as of date. The advantages vs. A380 according to Boeing is that one, cost advantage. The A380 costs $326m vs. $180m for dreamliner. Two, many airports need to be extended to accommodate the A380, which is not the case with the Dreamliner. Anyway who will emerge victorious, only time can tell.....