Qantas Cancels Massive Boeing Order

Company prepares long-delayed 787 for maiden flight

(NEWSER) - Boeing's Dreamliner will make its maiden flight next week after two years of delays. The high-tech aircraft could be airborne on a test flight of about five hours Tuesday if Seattle's weather permits, reports the Post-Intelligencer . Boeing has much staked on the plane, made of 50% composite material. It's locked in a fierce fight with Airbus to deliver the fuel-saving jet of the future, notes the Wall Street Journal . It has nearly 900 planes on order but can't deliver any until the model passes muster with the FAA. More»

(NEWSER) - Boeing was expecting to ride high on defense contracts in mid-2009 even as its 787 Dreamliner transformed air travel—but widespread problems have shadowed the firm's "dream summer," Dan Reed writes in USA Today. The Dreamliner's launch was delayed for a fifth time after structural problems were discovered, and analysts fear for the company's future as orders are canceled and defense contracts scaled down amid cutbacks and poor performance. More»

Test flight for Boeing's first new jet in 14 years pushed back for a fifth time

(NEWSER) - The maiden flight of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has been delayed for the fifth time, reports the AP. The company says the 8-week strike by its workers means the next-generation passenger jet now won't take off until an unspecified date next year. Canceled orders are unlikely despite the delay, says an industry observer, as there is "really no alternative" until the competing Airbus A350 arrives in 2013. More»

In about-face, switches to composite material used by rival Boeing

(NEWSER) - Airbus joined rival Boeing in switching from aluminum to carbon-fiber composites to build its new jetliner’s frame, reports the Wall Street Journal. Boeing has built the new 787 Dreamliner entirely from composites, which are lighter and easier to maintain. Airbus had held out on the A350, claiming its method of attaching composite panels to a metal frame was superior. More»

25K people sought tickets for first 787 voyage

(NEWSER) - After years of delays, the aircraft Boeing says is the future of aviation made its first commercial flight today, reports the BBC . The 787 Dreamliner, the first jet largely built from lightweight carbon-composite materials, took off on a chartered flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong for All Nippon Airways, the first airline to own a 787. More than 25,000 people scrambled online for tickets on the 264-seat aircraft as soon as they went on sale. More»