The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most popular and innovative airliners ever made. It’s a widebody airliner with ultra-long-haul range that’s smaller than previous long-range widebodies, such as the Boeing 747 and 777, which makes it less risky and cheaper to operate on these costly routes. Not only is it capable of flying long-haul routes, but it’s also fuel-efficient on shorter routes, too, making it one of the most versatile planes ever made. In comparison, prior long-range aircraft, like the Boeing 777-200LR, were fairly fuel-thirsty on shorter routes.
There are a few key elements that contribute to the Dreamliner’s efficiency. As a clean-sheet design, its airframe and wings are more aerodynamic than older-designed aircraft like the Airbus A330. Its two engine options, the General Electric GEnx or the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, are some of the most fuel-efficient engines ever made. In addition, the 787 is famous for having its construction be 50% carbon-composite materials, greatly reducing weight. Except, it’s not 100% true that the Boeing 787 is made out of 50% carbon-composite materials.
Overview Of The Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 is the newest clean-sheet aircraft from 
Boeing. It comes in three variants: the initial 787-8 that entered service in 2011 with All Nippon Airways, the larger and improved 787-9 that entered service in 2014 with All Nippon Airways, and the stretched-again 787-10 that entered service in 2018 with Singapore Airlines. The 787-9 has the longest range out of all the Dreamliner variants, with a brochure range of 7,565 NM (14,010 km), although it’s frequently operated on routes even longer than this.
The 787-9 is by far the most popular variant of the 787 family. It’s similar in size to an Airbus A330-300, but has true ultra-long-haul range. It’s received over 1,400 orders, nearly matching the order count for the entire Airbus A350 family. The 787-9 is also used on five of the world’s ten longest nonstop flights, and it holds the record for the world’s longest-ever scheduled flight, when it was used by Air Tahiti Nui to operate from Papeete to Paris (a distance of 9,765 NM / 15,715 km) between March and April of 2020.
The 787-8 has been largely forgotten as the 787-9 has superior operating economics and longer range. The 787-10, meanwhile, is gaining momentum as it still has sufficient range for transatlantic and some transpacific routes. It has the lowest per-seat costs out of any 787 variant, while also being sized as an excellent Boeing 777-200ER replacement. Furthermore, the 787-9 and 787-10 have recently been certified with increased Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) options, increasing range, which is expected to heavily boost 787-10 sales in particular.
The Construction Of The Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 is frequently heralded as being the world’s first majority carbon-composite airliner. It’s often promoted as being constructed out of 50% composite materials, while the other 50% of the plane is primarily made up of traditional aircraft aluminum. While composites are expensive, they’re also significantly lighter than metal. The aircraft’s lower weight, in turn, improves fuel efficiency. With this and other technological advances, Boeing has created a plane that essentially burns the same as a 767 while carrying more passengers and flying farther.
Except, composite materials don’t make up 50% of the 787’s construction. Composite materials actually make up roughly 80% of the Dreamliner’s construction, including the fuselage, most of the aircraft’s wings, the engine cowling, and a majority of the aircraft’s vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Never before had composites, also known as carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), been used on an airliner to such a great extent, and it’s a pioneering innovation that is now becoming the standard. Every cleansheet design since the 787 has featured a significant use of composites, and the refreshed Boeing 777X will feature new carbon-composite wings.
The 50% figure actually refers to the aircraft’s composite percentage by weight, as the other 50% of the 787’s weight is made up of aluminum, titanium, steel, and other materials. It shows a striking difference between the weight of these various components, in that 20% of the 787’s components make up 50% of its weight. This then shows the significance of widespread use of CFRP in commercial airliners, and why Boeing as well as Airbus are shifting towards its use, especially when considering the added strength.
787-8 Vs 787-9 Vs 787-10: How The Dreamliner Variants Differ
The three 787 variants are tailored to different market segments to fill niches and offer a placement for different previous-generation aircraft.
Why Are Carbon Composites So Important
The Boeing 787 (and Airbus A350) are actually the same weight or even heavier than prior-generation widebodies, such as the Boeing 767 and Boeing 777. Mainly, this is because a 787 is a significantly larger aircraft than a 767, and an A350-900 is also much larger than a 777-200ER. However, the use of composites has allowed Boeing to develop a stronger structure for the 787 that can support higher weights, and in turn, extend the aircraft’s range dramatically.
Not only are composites lighter than metal, but they’re stronger as well. The result is that manufacturers can install larger cabin windows (the largest of any in-production airliner in the case of the 787) and can also support a lower interior pressure altitude. This creates a higher pressure differential between the air inside and outside the aircraft, which increases stress on the fuselage. However, since composites are stronger and more resistant to fatigue, the 787 can support a lower cabin altitude without needing additional reinforcement compared to older aircraft.
Because composites are more resistant to fatigue, the 787 can also feature increased humidity in the cabin. The humidity percentage on the 787 is roughly 15% to 25%, whereas prior-generation airliners had a humidity percentage of only four to seven percent. Additional moisture in the cabin air can cause increased corrosion in the metal used by most aircraft, but this is not a concern for the Boeing 787. This creates a more comfortable environment for passengers, which is crucial on the ultra-long-haul routes that the 787 routinely operates.
Composite Materials On Other Airliners
Airliners have featured carbon-composites to a small degree since the Jet Age. As design and manufacturing techniques have advanced, manufacturers have further integrated composites in their designs. The Boeing 777 is roughly 8% composites by weight, while the Airbus A320 is roughly 10% composites. The Airbus A380, which was designed before the 787, is made up of roughly 25% composites by weight, making it significantly more ambitious than other airliners at the time.
The Airbus A350 was initially envisioned as a revision of the Airbus A330, retaining the A330’s metal fuselage while pairing it to new composite wings, a composite tail, along with 787 engines and an upgraded cockpit. Lukewarm reception led to Airbus redesigning the aircraft into the clean-sheet Airbus A350 XWB. This aircraft is made up of 53% composite materials by weight, and like the 787, it uses composite wings, composite fuselage panels, composite stabilizers, and composite engine cowlings.
|
Aircraft |
Composites By Weight |
|---|---|
|
Boeing 777 |
8% |
|
Airbus A320 |
10% |
|
Airbus A380 |
25% |
|
Airbus A220 |
46% |
|
Boeing 787 |
50% |
|
Airbus A350 |
53% |
By weight, the Airbus A220 is made up of 46% carbon-composites, and it’s used for the aircraft’s wings as well as the empennage. The A220’s fuselage, meanwhile, is primarily constructed out of aluminum-lithium, an advanced alloy that’s lighter and more durable than standard aluminum. Because the A220 is a short-haul airliner that spends less time in cruise, composites have less of a benefit since the fuel efficiency gains from the reduced weight are less pronounced.
How The Airbus A330neo Has Impacted The Market Despite Its Weaker Sales
The aircraft had an impressive impact on the market.
The Downside Of Carbon Composite Materials
Carbon composite materials in airliners lead to a significant reduction in weight, thereby reducing fuel burn. However, composites are also more expensive to procure than other materials, and it can be costly as well as time-consuming to manufacture. This can dramatically increase the manufacturing cost of the aircraft. These concerns are largely negligible for the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 as they are long-range widebodies that see significant fuel savings as a result of their composite construction.
For the Airbus A220, however, this becomes a bigger challenge. While the A220 has excellent range for a narrowbody, it’s still intended for significantly shorter flights than the missions that the 787 or A350 routinely perform. As it spends less time cruising, the fuel burn benefit from the reduced weight is not as pronounced. The A220, meanwhile, is also relatively expensive to purchase.
|
Aircraft |
Range (NM) |
Range (km) |
|---|---|---|
|
Airbus A220-300 |
3,400 NM |
6,300 km |
|
Airbus A220-100 |
3,600 NM |
6,700 km |
|
Boeing 787-10 |
6,330 NM |
11,720 km |
|
Boeing 787-8 |
7,305 NM |
13,503 km |
|
Boeing 787-9 |
7,565 NM |
14,010 km |
|
Airbus A350-900 |
8,500 NM |
15,750 km |
|
Airbus A350-1000 |
9,000 NM |
16,700 km |
Airbus has faced significant challenges with the A220’s manufacturing costs, and A220s are also being produced at a far lower rate than the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737. Airbus is yet to turn a profit on the A220 program due to these issues, although it aims for the program to become profitable in 2026. As a whole, while composites are a clear win for widebody airliners, the benefits are less clear for single-aisle aircraft, at least until procurement and manufacturing costs drop significantly.
