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Boeing has sold more than 500 of its new fuel-efficient 787 passenger jets, and the intense demand continues to push a likely speedup of production rates, the company said on Tuesday.

 

"We've clearly captivated the world's airlines with this airplane," 787 program chief Mike Bair told hundreds of workers at Boeing's wide-body jet assembly plant.

 

Chicago-based Boeing has been studying ways to increase its production rate for the 787, which is scheduled to make its first flight around late August and enter commercial service next year.

 

The manufacturer hopes to wrap up its research and make a production-rate decision this summer, Bair said. But any increase would only occur after the first 112 airplanes are produced in 2008-09, he said.

 

Boeing has now collected 514 orders for the 787, dubbed the Dreamliner, from more than 40 customers.

 

Some larger US carriers have not yet placed firm orders, but Bair said he expects more domestic airlines to make purchase decisions in the next year.

 

Boeing does not necessarily need a big order from another US airline to make the 787 a success, aviation analyst Scott Hamilton with Leeham Co LLC said.

 

"They don't need it, but of course they want it," he said.

 

The 787 is designed to burn 20 percent less fuel than comparable airplanes by using more lightweight carbon-fiber composites. Subcontractors around the world also are handling an increased workload to help build the plane, shipping major structures to the United States for assembly.

 

Bair would not disclose how many airplanes per month Boeing plans to make at its Washington state plants.

 

(Shanghai Daily April 5, 2007)