Boeing intends to take forward its 787-10 Dreamliner plan but has said that more efforts were required to get approval from the board of directors for an official launch of the programme.
The Chicago-based firm has been in talks with airlines and aircraft leasing companies to demonstrate specifications for the long-haul 787-10 aircraft, which will be a stretched version of the 787 Dreamliner.
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Boeing 787 programme vice president and general manager Larry Loftis said that the company had more tasks to perform in order to the launch the 787-10 programme.
The 787-10 will be the third Dreamliner variant and is expected to accommodate up to 323 passengers, nearly 13% more than the 787-9 version.
Expected to compete with Airbus’s medium-range A330-300, the proposed third model was approved by the company’s commercial aircraft division on 12 October as part of a final assessment before placing it to the board for approval.
The Dreamliner is built mainly of lighter weight plastic composites instead of heavier aluminium. The first 787-8 version debuted in late 2011 following more than three years of production delays and supplier issues.
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By GlobalDataThe 787-9 is expected to be delivered in early 2014 to its first customer, with the backlog of 787 orders split between 787-8 (60%) and the 787-9.
Meanwhile, the aircraft manufacturer reached a production rate of five 787s this month built in Washington and South Carolina facilities; it plans to ramp up its production to ten Dreamliners a month by the end of 2013.
Boeing has delivered 38 Dreamliners to eight carriers, with 35 of those made in 2012.
Image: Boeing has achieved a production rate of five Dreamliners a month and plans to ramp up to ten per month by the end of 2013. Photo: courtesy of Boeing.
