In a deal valued at $4.4 billion, the Boeing Co. completed the sale of 24 787s to British Airways today, pushing the total of Dreamliner orders to 790 during the past three years.
The order, which pushes this year’s 787 total to 341 jets, makes the Dreamliner program one of the most successful launches ever even without its first test flight. The company expects to make a test flight in March or April and to deliver 109 of the aircraft in 2009.
The 787, made with a majority of composite material, is highly fuel efficient. The company said it will be cheaper to maintain.
“With lower operating costs and the range to fly to all our destinations, it will give us more flexibility when planning our route network and we are confident that our customers will enjoy flying on the aircraft,” Willie Walsh, British Airways CEO, said in a prepared statement.
Boeing said passenger improvements include more storage space for carry-on luggage, technology that suppresses turbulence, bigger windows that have dimming capability rather than a shade and cabins with more humidity and better air filtration.
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