Boeing has emphasized its view of the future in the development of the 787 Dreamliner. It is made of lightweight and durable composites including advanced aluminum alloys. The most important goal of the Dreamliner is an increase in fuel efficiency. Seeking Alpha summarizes the development of the Boeing aircraft, which is 33% made in the United States…although final assembly of the aircraft is definitely done in the US, various parts are produced by foreign companies.
Meanwhile, as we reported, Airbus is experiencing delay after delay with its Airbus 380. As Bloomberg reports, Airbus’s parent company pledged to radically overhaul the planemaker with job cuts, production changes, etc. The overhaul was promised after it was revealed that Airbus is now two years behind schedule on the 380. The delay is apparently due to Airbus’s failure to provide the same software to the design teams which caused problems in the installation 300 miles of wiring in each plane…an immensely complex process. Management is investigating.
Airbus has 159 orders from 16 customers for the plane, which has cost over $13.5 billion to develop. Now…one plane will be delivered in the second half of 2007, 13 in 2008, 25 in 2009, and 45 in 2010. The money and resources they are using in this delay is desperately needed to redesign the midsize A350 wide-body jet to compete with the 787 Dreamliner. Even with this delay, no carrier has yet cancelled any of their offer, but we have no doubt they will use it to negotiate better terms which will eat into Airbus’s profits. Emirates is the single largest purchaser of the Airbus 380.