Boeing’s Dreamliner reaches major milestones amid challenges since launch

The aircraft's design includes an airframe made up of about 80% lightweight composite materials such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), marking a first for commercial aircraft fuselages. Airlines can choose between General Electric GEnx-1B or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines for their fleets; both options offer improved fuel consumption and noise reduction features.

Among its three variants—the -8, -9, and -10—the Boeing 787-9 has been particularly successful with airlines due to its combination of range (up to 7,565 nautical miles) and capacity (296 passengers in two classes). The smaller -8 variant serves airlines looking for lighter capacity options but offers slightly less range due to smaller fuel tanks. The largest model, the -10, while offering higher passenger capacity (336 in two classes), has seen fewer orders compared to its siblings because it competes directly with other high-capacity widebodies from Airbus.

United Airlines leads as one of the top customers for all three variants combined.

The main competitor for the Boeing 787 is Airbus’s A350 series. Like the Dreamliner, it uses advanced composite materials—50% carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer—and provides similar gains in fuel efficiency compared to older models. However, market timing played a role in Boeing’s success; the Dreamliner entered service four years ahead of its Airbus rival.

Despite its achievements, the Boeing 787 faced several challenges during its development and operational history. In early service years starting in 2013, lithium-ion battery fires led regulators worldwide to ground all active aircraft until solutions were implemented—a process that lasted seven months. Later manufacturing defects identified in 2019 caused further delays; production was halted entirely between May 2021 and July 2022.

Safety concerns resurfaced after an Air India Flight AI171 crash involving a Dreamliner in June 2025. Following an investigation into issues related to fuel control switch design—which shares similarities with other Boeing models—the Federal Aviation Administration stated: "Although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787."

Looking forward, Boeing’s next widebody project is the delayed 777X. The new jet already has a backlog of more than five hundred orders across multiple variants but faces further delays with expected entry into service now pushed back from mid-2026 to at least sometime in 2027.