Will Boeing's Dreamliner come true?

A great idea, Emirates senior management went to Seattle to see how the aircraft could be configured to suit this region. Indeed, a good deal was written about this airplane that traveled at speeds just short of supersonic with excellent fuel economy. Only it did not fly or even make it off the drawing board and was quietly canned.

Not surprisingly then a certain amount of skepticism greeted the 7E7 'Dreamliner' concept aircraft at the Dubai Airshow last week. Even the name of the aircraft seemed to suggest an idea whose time might not yet have come.

But apparently this will be the next Boeing jet liner, spacious, fuel-efficient and designed for short to medium haul routes. Hopefully this time Boeing's first new plane for a decade will actually fly.

Boeing certainly has its work cut out in the civil aviation field. This year the US giant will fall behind arch rival Airbus in commercial aircraft orders for the first time. Boeing's Chief Executive Officer Phil Condit resigned at the start of the month, and veteran Harry Stonecipher has been recalled from retirement to fill his shoes.

The problem is not really one of image. Boeing has enough professional spin doctors to launch its own political party, although marketing budgets have been pathetically small in recent years with disastrous consequences.

The real problem is an ageing product line. The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was revolutionary in the early 1970s. Today it is long in the tooth as the just retired Concorde. Even the 777 is now over 10 years old.

By contrast Airbus has the aircraft of the future, the A380 double-decker superjumbo with 128 firm orders, a third of them from Emirates and Qatar Airways. It is the same story for smaller jets. The Airbus A340-500 offers a splendid way to travel not stop from Dubai to Sydney with Emirates with individual cabins and 17-inch screens in First Class.

However, all industries move in cycles and writing Boeing's obituary may be premature just yet. As John Craig, Boeing's new regional ambassador-at-large told AME Info at the Dubai Airshow, more than half the company's business is now in integrated defense systems, or fighters, bombs and satellites in plain English.

This technological collateral is Boeing's research and development mine of the future. From this advanced technology Boeing can still build the planes of tomorrow. The Dreamliner may after all prove to be a turning point. This may be one dream that comes true.