Boeing launches 787-10 Dreamliner at Paris Air Show, wins new deals

U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced Tuesday the official launch of 787-10, a new model of Dreamliner plane, at Paris Air Show, with a new order for more than 100 planes from five international aviation companies. As the third member of the super-efficient 787 family, "the 787-10 Dreamliner will be the most-efficient jetliner in history," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. Conner detailed that the new model "is 25 percent more efficient than airplanes of its size today and more than 10 percent better than anything being offered by the competition for the future." The giant American manufacture has got commitments for 102 airplanes from five customers across Europe, Asia and North America, including Air Lease Corporation with 30 airplanes, GE Capital Aviation Services with 10, International Airlines Group/British Airways with 12, subject to shareholder approval, Singapore Airlines with 30 and United Airlines with 20, according to the company. But it did not disclose the prices of these new contracts. The new 787-10 will fly up to 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km), covering more than 90 percent of the world's twin-aisle routes, with seating for 300-330 passengers, depending on an airline's configuration choices, said Boeing. The American heavyweight confirmed that the design of the 787-10 has already started at Boeing, and international partners will be involved in detailed design in the months ahead. Final assembly and flight test of the 787-10 are set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2018. The International Paris Air Show has entered into second day on Tuesday. The two traditional rivalries, Boeing and Airbus, have locked up in a tight battle to attract more customers, aiming to take major share in the much profitable long-haul market. On the first day of the show, Airbus led the sale by wining big order for its wide-body A380 and fuel-efficient short-haul A320neo, and A320 from Doric aircraft financing group, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and German airlines Lufthansa, with the list prices estimated to exceed 20 billion U.S. dollars. Boeing, on the other hand, also got orders for its 787-10, 737 MAX and the long-haul 777-300ER from GECAS, Japan's Skymark Airlines and Qatar Airways, in total at catalogue prices of 6.1 billion dollars. Airbus pins its hopes on its new fuel-saving wide-body A350 to compete with its American rivals in the long-haul market. Taking place at the Le Bourget exhibition center in northeast Paris, the 50th International Paris Air Show will last until June 23.