With some 30 airplanes in various stages of completion parked outside the 787 production line in Everett, Washington, Boeing’s goal to deliver at least a dozen of the carbon-fiber jetliners after it gains expected certification this year might seem as remote as its aim to meet each of its customers’ mission requirements. But not only does Boeing think it can deliver between 12 and 20 of the revolutionary airplanes by year-end, 787 program head Scott Fancher told reporters during a pre-Paris media briefing that the mostly composite jetliner will execute every mission its operators call on it to perform.
“As of today there are no customer missions that we cannot make,” he said. “And we work very closely with our customers to understand what that means. We’ve got block points that are going in at multiple locations to take weight out of the airplanes. We’ve got a series of engine improvements that both Rolls-Royce and GE are planning on. Over the next couple of years the combination of those two things will further improve the efficiencies of the airplane.”
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