When Boeing announced its vision for the new 787 Dreamliner in 2002, it was no surefire winner. Aviation pundits and many company employees openly questioned whether Boeing management was fully committed to remaining a power in the airliner business.
Airbus was aviation's innovator then, pouring billions of euros into developing its new A380 superjumbo jet. Boeing seemed like a deer in Airbus' headlights.
The U.S. plane maker had already abandoned a plan to develop a bigger jumbo jet, the 747X, to go against the A380. Then, in December 2002, it dumped a more daring plan for a dramatically different-looking jet that emphasized speed over size, the Sonic Cruiser.
The replacement, first called the 7E7, seemed boring by comparison: a fuel-sipping, traditionally shaped airplane that would save airlines money.
Some doubted that Boeing would follow through on this one, either.
They were wrong. Through all the criticism, Boeing's strategic planners kept their nerve and ultimately judged the market dead right: The 787's unprecedented sales success reversed Boeing's fortunes.
Runway cleaning machines clean and dry the runway at Paine Field prior to the planned maiden flight of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
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