Boeing’s twin-engine 787 ‘Dreamliner’ family has taken the widebody world by
storm over the last decade. Having recently celebrated 10 years since its first delivery,
more than 1,000 examples of this next-generation aircraft family have now been produced.
These modern twinjets are spread across three variants, but could Boeing introduce another?
Let’s start by quickly establishing the nature of Boeing’s existing 787 Dreamliner family
for those unfamiliar with the type. The smallest of its three variants
is known as the 787-8. This was the original version of the Dreamliner,
and it entered service in October 2011 with Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways.
ANA had taken delivery of this aircraft a month beforehand, amid great excitement.
The mid-size variant is known as the 787-9. It is just over six meters longer than the 787-8
(56.72 m vs 62.81 m), and entered service with Air New Zealand in August 2014. Owing to its length,
it has a typical two-class capacity of 290 passengers, compared to 242 on the 787-8.
With 568 deliveries at the time of this video’s release, it is the most popular variant.
The 787-10 is the longest version of the Dreamliner, clocking in at 68.28 meters long.
It has a correspondingly high typical two-class capacity of 330 passengers. This stretched
version of the 787 was the last to enter service, doing so in April 2018 with Singapore Airlines.
Looking at the success of the 787, it is clear that Boeing has found a suitable
combination of variants. However, the world of commercial aviation is a dynamic one,
and Boeing may find that it needs to produce more variants going forward in response to
fluctuating trends. For example, might it want to stretch the 787’s fuselage even longer?
In terms of competition from Airbus, the 787-10 is well-paired with the A350-900
in terms of capacity. However, there isn’t an equivalent Dreamliner when it comes to
matching the 73.8-meter long A350-1000. Stretching the 787 further would allow
for a higher capacity widebody with a lighter carbon fibre body. However, a further stretch
would further reduce the 787’s range- something that is already a limiting factor on the -10.
At the same time, Boeing already has an appropriate A350-1000 competitor
in the form of the 777-8. This shorter 777X is set to be produced after the 777-9 enters service-
but the timeline for this remains vague. Simple Flying een reported last year that a
777X freighter could be produced before a passenger 777-8. Therefore,
maybe a 787-10ER with additional range could be appealing for airlines? What do you think?
With the need for a larger iteration of the 787 now seeming unlikely, could there be
scope for Boeing to further downsize the aircraft instead? Looking at competition from Airbus again,
this perhaps won’t be the case. After all, the smallest 787, the -8 version,
is already well-matched with the smallest A330neo, the -800, in terms of capacity.
Given the rising trend in long-range narrowbody flights, Boeing might be better off developing
a larger single-aisle jet to compete in this market. That being said, its 737 MAX series
is a capable aircraft in this domain, having been used on sectors as long as eight-hours!
Of course, a shrunken 787 would likely have more range and greater efficiency than a 737
MAX 10. This is due to the fact the Dreamliner is a widebody made
largely of composite material with larger wings and larger tanks. At the same time,
these factors would likely make a shrunken 787 too expensive for the market it would serve.
Given the general passenger preference for widebodies, however,
we would imagine that those flying on a smaller 787 would probably enjoy their flight
much more than if they were on a narrowbody! If Boeing were to introduce another 787 variant,
what version would you want to see produced? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.