Boeings "Lego Liner: - the 787 Dreamliner posts record sales for year end

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the fastest selling commercial airplane of all time has had a bumpy birth. Corporate sources are still holding to their (revised) Q4 '08 delivery date. Production of the first three prototypes on the Everett "Lego Line" assembling 30,000 bits and pieces from 1,200 suppliers from 400 subcontractors in 17 countries is well underway, the first (closest) for their "first flight" demonstration and the second two for static and fatigue testing.

Vietnam Airlines has just announced an order for 4 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, and will lease another 8 from Vietnam Aircraft Leasing bringing the total to 802.

British Airways announced finalising their order announced earlier in the year for 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a deal valued at some US$4.4 billion (£2.2bn) at list prices.
BA has options for 18 more 787 aircraft and purchase rights for an additional 10.

This has sealed a record sales year for Boeing who have reported an industry record of 1,413 firm commercial plane orders for 2007,Airbus have yet to issue final figures.

For each of the last three years Boeing and Airbus have posted more than 1,800 net orders combined.

Boeing said earlier yesterday it had delivered 441 commercial aircraft in 2007, its best performance in six years and up 11 percent from 2006 although Airbus had delivered 401 by end November.

See video of suites on board the Singapore Airlines Airbus 380 which has been in service for 2 months after a 2 year delivery delay. Maybe the Airbus 308 should be called the "legover Liner" with their double sleeping cabins ?