Boeing has broken the 900 order mark for its hot-selling 787 Dreamiliner, according to a report from Flight's Air Transport Intelligence.
The firm order for 12 787s, was announced in Istanbul by Saudi Arabian Airlines. The order also includes 8 Airbus A330 aircraft.
Saudi Arabian Airlines General Director Khalid Al Molhem said no engine selection has been made, though the General Electric GEnx engine is being given strong consideration.
The passing of the 900 order mark again affirms the 787's status as the fastest selling commercial aircraft in history. The order, when officially announced by Boeing and Saudi Arabian, is expected to bring the 787 firm order total to 908.
UPDATE: Saudi Arabian Airlines indicated that the order would come from a combination of leased and purchased aircraft. No lessor was specified. Though Boeing needs just four newly purchased 787s to pass 900 orders. The order total currently stands at 896.
Thanks, Jon, for the info. The 787 may go down as the hottest selling plane that never enters service. Since the 787 program is rife with extreme difficulties only a "look the other way" FAA can remedy, being the hottest selling airplane still in development could bite Boeing back hard. I'm not sure what the contracts state, but at a minimum Boeing would have to refund 908 deposits plus interest, and perhaps billions in non-delivery penalties. At least you know that Boeing management is not risk adverse. A more prudent course might have been to limit financial exposure should the program go South in decelopment and "production" as it is doing. Hopefully you know enough about Boeing as I do not to be blinded by their P.R. department. The true state of Boeing management and airplane production at Boeing is not widely known due to Boeing's P.R. prowess, not to mention their advertising dollars to media outlets.
Keep telling both the good and the bad. Blogs are where to go if you want the truth these days.
Thanks again,
Gerald Eastman
The Last (Boeing) Inspector
Wow, tuff coment there! Makes you wonder!! Well, I do hope that things turn out good for the 787. After all, we will miss it greatly being the plane that it was made out to be.
Put down the crack pipe and step away from the keyboard, Gerry.
what did he say about refunds?
What did he say about refund?
Just to put this in a bit of context, there wasn't a formal announcement in Istanbul and Boeing hasn't said a dicky-bird about where this leaves the 787 order book. The original story came from a (seriously brief) chat with the director-general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, and while he mentioned the 12 787s, he didn't elaborate on much else - including whether a 'firm' order means the same in Jeddah as it does in the rest of the world.
David's story does say it would be a mix of leased and purchased airplanes, so it's entirely possible that these airplanes are already ordered by a lessor.
Shut Up Gerald!
Thank you yet again, Jon!
At the risk of some displeasure, I'm going to agree with Gerald's comment that Jon and others should "Keep telling both the good and the bad. Blogs are where to go if you want the truth these days."
It is a concern that Boeing's order book keeps expanding despite the evidence of trouble we such as we have seen. However, I also find it telling of their apparent confidence and an idea of the plane's developmental status that they do continue to make progress with that order book.
Bottom line, we need to hear both sides - we need to know about the problems, but we also need to know about the progress. And the people who are telling us these things must be honest and responsible about it - like Jon is and has always been, and very unlike others we know of on other forii.
Meanwhile, hopeful and premature congrats to both Boeing and SV on what I hope will be confirmed as a solid order!
Cheers!
The Fan
Thank you yet again, Jon!
At the risk of some displeasure, I'm going to agree with Gerald's comment that Jon and others should "Keep telling both the good and the bad. Blogs are where to go if you want the truth these days."
It is a concern that Boeing's order book keeps expanding despite the evidence of trouble we such as we have seen. However, I also find it telling of their apparent confidence and an idea of the plane's developmental status that they do continue to make progress with that order book.
Bottom line, we need to hear both sides - we need to know about the problems, but we also need to know about the progress. And the people who are telling us these things must be honest and responsible about it - like Jon is and has always been, and very unlike others we know of on other forii.
Meanwhile, hopeful and premature congrats to both Boeing and SV on what I hope will be confirmed as a solid order!
Cheers!
The Fan