Boeing Co announced 35 new orders for its 787 Dreamliner on the eve of its unveiling yesterday of the new commercial jet.
Air Berlin ordered 25 and ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company of Kuwait is taking 10, Boeing said on Saturday. Together, the orders are valued at US$5.62 billion at list prices, although customers are usually able to negotiate discounts.
Boeing now has orders for 677 of the new 787s from 47 customers. The new plane's first flight is scheduled for later this year, with the first delivery to a customer, All Nippon Airways Co, next May.
PHOTO: AP
Air Berlin's order is the largest single order placed by any European carrier, Boeing said. The airline also secured 10 options and 15 purchase rights for additional 787s, Boeing said.
The 10 ordered by ALAFCO are in addition to 12 787s it ordered in March. The earlier orders are to be placed with Kuwait Airways; it was not clear where the 10 new orders would be placed.
The 787 will be the world's first commercial jetliner made mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter and sturdier than aluminum. Boeing has said that and other technological advances will make the 787 more fuel-efficient and cheaper to maintain.
The new jet will make its public premiere before 15,000 people and broadcast live by satellite in nine languages in Everett, Washington, where the planes are assembled about 50km north of Seattle.
Once the crowd leaves, Boeing must prove the aircraft is ready for commercial use in eight months, the shortest test-flight program in the company's 90-year history.
"The flight test will be the moment of truth," said Craig Fraser, a fixed-income analyst at Fitch Ratings in New York. "That's what people are really focusing on. Does it go from a positive story to a very positive story or slide into trouble?"
The plane helped Boeing win more orders than France-based Airbus last for the first time in five years. Airbus's competing A350 XWB will enter service in 2013, five years after the Dreamliner.
Airbus passed Boeing in aircraft deliveries in 2003 and retained the lead through last year.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to