Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 looks as if it was drawn rather than riveted together. The nose is smooth, the wings curve upward in flight, and the engines have saw-toothed back edges [8] [9]. That impression is not far off: Boeing says about half of the airframe, by weight, is made of composite materials rather than metal [3].

It is a twin-engine widebody, and it comes in three sizes [7] [8]. The giveaways that separate it from other big twins are the nose, the wingtips and the engines, which is handy, because those are exactly the parts you can see from a garden.

A slow start to a fast seller

The first 787 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10.27 on 15 December 2009, and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle about three hours later, with Mike Carriker and Randy Neville at the controls [1]. By then 55 customers had ordered 840 of them, and Boeing was calling it the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history [1].

Getting one to an airline took longer. All Nippon Airways, which launched the programme in April 2004 with an order for 50, received the first aircraft on 26 September 2011 [2]. The original target had been May 2008. The date slipped seven times, which Airways Magazine puts down to engineering and supply chain problems and a 58-day strike in 2008 [2].

The early years in service were not smooth either. In January 2013 the US Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency airworthiness directive after lithium-ion battery failures released flammable electrolyte, heat and smoke. By 17 January all 50 of the 787s then flying, worldwide, were on the ground [6].

Three sizes

The family comes in three lengths, each with its own type code: the 787-8 (B788), the 787-9 (B789) and the 787-10 (B78X) [7].

• The 787-8 is the shortest of the three [4] [9].
• The 787-9 first flew on 17 September 2013, on a flight of five hours and 16 minutes [4]. Its fuselage is 20 feet (6 metres) longer than the 787-8's, and it carries 40 more passengers with 300 nautical miles more range [4].
• The 787-10 stretches the 787-9 by about another 6 metres [9], with more than 95% commonality between the two [5]. It seats about 330 in a two-class layout, some 40 more than the 787-9 [5]. Singapore Airlines took the first one on 25 March 2018 [5].

Boeing's 787 page said more than 1,270 had been delivered when we checked it in September 2026 [3].

What the passengers notice

The composite structure lets Boeing keep the cabin pressurised to the equivalent of 6,000 feet, and it runs at higher humidity than older jets [3]. Boeing also says the windows are the largest of any widebody flying today [3]. For the airlines, Boeing's pitch is a 25% cut in fuel use compared with the aircraft the 787 typically replaces [3].

How to spot one

• The nose. The 787 has four large, rounded cockpit windows, where Boeing's other widebodies have six angular ones, and the cockpit blends smoothly into the nose [8] [9].
• The engines. The rear edges of the engine nacelles are cut into serrated chevrons, a design feature Boeing uses to cut noise [3] [8].
• The wings. They curve upward and finish in raked wingtips rather than upturned winglets [9].
• The tail. The back end of the fin points slightly upward, a so-called shark tail, which the 777-8 and 777-9 share [9].
• Which size? Count the cabin windows between the first two sets of doors: about 10 on a 787-8, about 15 on a 787-9 and about 20 on a 787-10 [9].

Types it can be mistaken for:

• A Boeing 767 has six cockpit windows, plain engine exhausts, no shark tail, and main landing gear bogies that tilt forward when the aircraft is airborne [8] [9].
• A Boeing 777 has six cockpit windows, six wheels on each main landing gear and a flat tail cone [8] [9].
• An Airbus A350 is a similar size to the 787-9 and 787-10, but it has six cockpit windows, curved winglets and no serrated engine exhausts. The A350-1000 also has six wheels on each main gear [9].

Over Ireland

Dublin has had 787s on its long-haul routes since at least 2019 [10] [11]. United Airlines announced in November 2018 that it would put the 787-10 on its Newark to Dublin service from May 2019 [10]. Etihad Airways brought the 787-9 to its Dublin to Abu Dhabi route in the summer of 2019 [11]. For summer 2025, United replaced the Boeing 757-200 on its seasonal Dublin to Chicago O'Hare route with a 787-8 [12].

Airline schedules change from season to season, so treat these as examples of where the type turns up rather than a timetable. The live map is the better guide to what is overhead tonight.

From the archive

The first Dreamliner departed before an estimated 12,000 employees and guests; Boeing’s plan called for six test aircraft flying around the world. [1]

Its first flight used Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, while two of the six planned test aircraft were to use General Electric GEnx engines. [1]

In photographs

Look closer at the shapes, details and liveries. Every photograph links to its original and credits its creator.

Drawings and original documents

Existing published drawings are credited below. These are reference illustrations, not manufacturing blueprints.

• 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 airport planning drawings, October 2025

  Boeing’s planning manual compares all three Dreamliner lengths, their dimensioned views, cabin arrangements and airport servicing requirements.

• The Dreamliner’s first flight, 15 December 2009

  Boeing’s original first-flight report includes real photographs and the test pilots’ route, flight duration and early flight-test programme.