TRUE VALUE

How the Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner provides gains for all associated parties

BY LORI GUNTER

When Boeing introduces a new airplane to the market, it does so only after ensuring it will provide value to everyone associated with the product: airlines, passengers, Boeing and its partners.

For the Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner, officially launched in late April, the value story is compelling for all audiences. With a range of up to 8,500 nautical miles and a seating capacity of 217 to 257 in three-class seating, the twin-aisle, twinjet airplane will bring the economics, speed and range of large airplanes such as the 747 and the 777 to the mid-size airplane market. The 7E7's design makes the airplane a compelling choice for travelers and airlines. It provides tremendous opportunity for Boeing's partners in the program. In addition, the airplane confirms Boeing's role as the worldwide leader in the aerospace field-and as the company that's shaping the industry's future.

"The customer interest, the partner support and the passenger eagerness for this airplane are great validation that once again we've fulfilled the value requirements of a new airplane's key audiences," said Walt Gillette, vice president of Engineering, Manufacturing and Partner Alignment for the 7E7.

'BETTER FLYING EXPERIENCE'

Perhaps more so than any passenger airplane since the advent of the jet age, the 7E7 will redefine what it means for people to travel by air.

"Passengers want a better flying experience," said John Feren, vice president of Sales for the 7E7 program. "With the 7E7, that's exactly what we will be delivering."

The improvements for passengers start well before their flight begins.

Because the 7E7 is the first mid-sized airplane with true long-range capabilities, it will increase the number of routes that are connected with nonstop flights. Routes that require long-range capabilities but don't currently have enough demand to justify a large-sized airplane can finally be economically connected with direct routes.

Feren said estimates show that the 7E7 can open up at least 450 nonstop routes. "When passengers have a choice between flying direct and making a stop, they consistently choose the direct flight. That's how they want to fly," he said.

The 7E7 can also help improve the frequency of flights. Some airlines may elect to offer twice-daily service on a route using a 7E7 instead of once-a-day service using a bigger airplane.

In addition, the airplane will provide passengers with a better on-board experience.

"From the minute they board the airplane, passengers will know they are in for a treat," Feren said. "The airplane's welcoming architecture, its bigger windows, its wider aisles and wide seats all answer the requests we've heard from the traveling public."

There are also changes in the cabin environment that may be too subtle for most passengers to identify. However, they combine to create an overall improvement in the flight that will be unmistakable.

The air pressure in the cabin will be higher than on today's airplanes, enabled in large part by the composite materials used in the fuselage. The higher pressure will simulate much lower altitudes — 6,000 feet instead of 8,000 feet. And the humidity in the cabin air will be noticeably higher, reducing the dryness often associated with flying.

"We don't expect everyone to be able to specifically identify all of the changes we're making," Feren said. "But our research clearly shows that passengers will walk off their 7E7 flights feeling better."

A BOON FOR AIRLINES

To deliver value to the airlines, Boeing works two sides of the equation: lowering costs and increasing revenue opportunities.

Because it uses 20 percent less fuel than today's airplanes, the 7E7 has a clear cost advantage. But it doesn't stop there. The use of composite materials makes the airplane lighter. Airports typically base landing fees on the weight of an airplane, giving the 7E7 another advantage.

In addition, composite materials offer a maintenance savings because they are not subject to the same fatigue and corrosion issues as aluminum.

Boeing works just as hard to improve the revenue side of the equation for airlines. By providing passengers with what they want, airlines that operate the 7E7 will gain an advantage over their competitors.

"Anytime you can offer a better service, more frequency, nonstop, you are preferred by passengers," Feren said.

He added that the 7E7 offers greater revenue cargo capacity, a source of revenue that for airlines can mean the difference between being profitable or not on a route. "By increasing the room for this source of revenue, we're increasing the odds that 7E7 flights will be more profitable," Feren said.

Finally, Boeing is helping airlines maintain the value of their 7E7s by increasing product commonality. While customization might seem like a benefit, it actually reduces the long-term value of an asset such as a commercial airplane, Feren said: "You need a product that can be moved from customer to customer throughout its life."

To improve even further the overall value of the 7E7, the airplane is being offered at the same list price as the 767 — $120 million — even though it flies — farther, carries more cargo and offers an enhanced flying experience.

A ROLE FOR PARTNERS

The 7E7 offers benefits not only for the people who travel on airplanes and the airlines that serve them, but also for select world-class aerospace companies that have been named to the Dreamliner team.

"To motivate the partner team to participate in this program, we had to show them that we were developing a product that the airlines want," Gillette said.

"They are investing a great deal of capital and intellectual resources in this effort right along with us," he said. "They needed to know it would be a journey that would be beneficial for them."

Clearly, they decided that the journey was one they wanted to take.

"For a company that builds flight control actuation systems, there could be no more attractive airplane platform than the 7E7," said R. T. Brady, chairman and CEO of Moog Inc., upon the announcement that his company had been selected to participate on the program. Moog will supply the airplane's primary flight control actuation system. "We mounted an extraordinary effort to achieve this selection, and we're delighted to play a role in the development of a great new commercial airplane."

"We are excited about continuing our long relationship with Boeing and being a part of this next generation of passenger jet aircraft," said Robert Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Aerospace. Honeywell is providing the navigation and maintenance/crew information systems for the 7E7.

"We want our partners to be successful with the 7E7 program," Gillette said. "We need them to be healthy and strong for the next project, whatever it is."

LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

Yet there's one other critical element that makes the 7E7 such a game-changer in the aerospace industry: the airplane's sales potential. According to Boeing forecasts, there will be a need for up to 3,500 airplanes in the 7E7's market segment over the next 20 years. With All Nippon Airways' firm order in April for 50 7E7s (the largest launch order in history for a new Boeing commercial jet), the 7E7 program has taken a healthy first step into this market.

Certainly, the airplane has financial value for Boeing. Yet, for the company, the airplane also carries with it a deeper, intangible value.

"Of course we have to be able to deliver a product to our customer that also results in good business returns for Boeing," Gillette said.

"But that is just the beginning. When we look back at innovation in our industry, Boeing has a tradition of excellence and leadership," he said. "It's the reason many of us came to work here. Some see this as our opportunity to continue that tradition. I see it as much more. It's not just an opportunity, it's an obligation."

Gillette sees the 7E7 as his team's way of fulfilling this obligation.

"All 10 of the new airplane types brought to market by The Boeing Company have been successful; we have a perfect record of 10 for 10," he said. "With the 7E7, we will be 11 for 11 and set the tone for the future."

loretta.m.gunter@boeing.com