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Boeing unveils first 787 Dreamliners with firm orders in hands |
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12:46, July 09, 2007 |
U.S. Boeing Co. on Sunday rolled out the first of its 787 Dreamliners at the company's widebody assembly plant in Everett, Washington, local media reported.
Compared with "today's similarly sized airplane," Boeing's new model "will use 20 percent less fuel," the company said in a statement.
Boeing said its all-new jet would be the world's first large commercial airplane made mostly of carbon-fiber composites -- lighter, more durable, but less vulnerable to corrosion than aluminum.
Over the last few years, Boeing has received orders of more than 600 Dreamliners from airlines, leasing companies and other plane buyers.
Boeing announced last month that the Los Angeles-base International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), the largest airplane leasing company in the world, ordered 63 airplanes worth 8.8 billion U.S. dollars at list prices.
The deal, including 52 of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner jets, helped push sales of the biggest passenger plane maker's latest model to an astonishing 634 firm orders even before the first jet rolled out.
ILFC's order was the single biggest one for the 787 jet since Boeing launched the Dreamliner program to develop a mid-sized fuel-efficient passenger airliner in 2004.
The biggest previous 787 order from a single buyer was All Nippon Airways' 50-plane launch order, while Chinese airlines have ordered a total of 57 787s in a group buy, according to earlier reports.
Source: Xinhua
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