The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner is the newest and largest member of the 787 family. The aircraft took its first flight on March 31st, 2017, with its first delivery taking place in March 2018 to launch customer Singapore Airlines. But with just 243 orders, the stretched Dreamliner variant comprises just over 13% of the total orders made for the 787.

The order books

Boeing's order book shows that airlines, governments, and private customers around the world have ordered a total of 1,843 787s, with demand for the 787-9 greatly eclipsing that of both the 787-8 and 787-10. Here is how the order statistics compare for the three 787 variants currently available:

• 787-8: 424 (23.0%)
• 787-9: 1,176 (63.8%)
• 787-10: 243 (13.2%)

Boeing highlights some of the features of the 787-10 on its website, saying,

"As a stretch of the 787-9, the 787-10 leverages the family’s proven technology, long-range, and preferred passenger experience, with unprecedented efficiency: 10% better fuel and emissions than the best on offer by the competition and 25% better than the airplanes it will replace."

So why isn't the 787-10 as popular as its shorter siblings?

A shorter range

Since its inception, the 787 has been billed as a game-changing aircraft, that has gone on to unlock long-distance, low-demand routes. This was made possible by the Dreamliner's revolutionary fuel efficiency, thanks to the latest engines, a lighter carbon-composite fuselage, and raked wingtips.

However, as is quite common with aircraft stretches, there is a tradeoff when it comes to adding those additional fuselage sections to create greater capacity. This typically results in a loss of range, unless additional fuel tanks are added, which bring their own detriments in terms of efficiency.

The 787-10 can carry up to 330 passengers in a two-class configuration, which is 40 more than the 787-9 and 88 more than the 787-8. But this comes at a cost to the aircraft's range. Here is how the Dreamliner variants compare in terms of range:

• 787-8: 7,351 NM
• 787-9: 7,633 NM
• 787-10: 6,430 NM

With this shorter range and larger capacity, the 787-10 moves into a more traditional category of long-haul aircraft; one that has already been filled by the Boeing 777. While carriers may have initially chosen the 787-8 and 787-9 to fly on longer, thinner routes, the larger 787-10 is on the fringes of this concept.

The 787-10 is newer

Another reason for the 787-10's apparent lack of popularity is due to the simple fact that it is a newer aircraft. While the 787-8 took its first flight in 2009 and the 787-9 in 2013, the 787-10 did not take to the skies until 2017, four years after being officially launched at the Paris Air Show in 2013.

The 787 program as a whole was announced back in the early 2000s, with orders for the 787-8 and 787-9 piling in over the subsequent years. This means the 787-10 is as much as ten years behind its siblings in terms of taking orders. In the meantime, many airlines have been comfortable making do with their 777-200ERs, a somewhat comparable aircraft in terms of range and capacity.

However, as older 777-200ERs continue to be retired, airlines might well discover that the 787-10 is the perfect replacement, and the aircraft could see its popularity increase over the coming years. Data from ch-aviation shows that the largest operator of the 787-10 is currently United Airlines, with 21 in its fleet, followed by Singapore Airlines with 20. Korean Air will soon join the list when it takes delivery of the 20 787-10s it has on order.

Have you flown on the Boeing 787-10? Why do you think the aircraft has proved to be less popular than its siblings? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.

Source: ch-aviation

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  Boeing

  Stock Code:

  BA

  Date Founded:

  1916-07-15

  CEO:

  Dave Calhoun

  Headquarters Location:

  Chicago, USA

  Key Product Lines:

  Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787

  Business Type:

  Planemaker