KEY POINTS:
Even as it is revealed to the public for the first time, Boeing is already calling the 787 Dreamliner the most commercially successful passenger jet.
It is certainly the first commercial jet to sell more than 500 before it has been rolled out, including eight of the new planes ordered by Air New Zealand.
The aeroplane manufacturer yesterday launched its 787 Dreamliner before a crowd of 15,000 employees, customers and suppliers in Seattle.
Despite its relatively small order - Qantas is buying 85 of the US$160 million ($204 million) 787s - Air New Zealand management were honoured with front-row seats at yesterday's ceremony in recognition of its early commitment to buying the new planes.
The seating arrangements reflected the significance Boeing attached to Air New Zealand's early support, the airline's chairman John Palmer said after the event.
Air NZ was the first in the world to order the second-generation 787-9 aircraft in 2004.
Also in the front row were Japan's All Nippon Airways - which was the first to order the 787-8.
Palmer and the Air New Zealand management team said they were thrilled with the look of the plane.
"If it flies as good as it looks then we've made the right choice," said general manager of strategic development Nathan Agnew.
Boeing has outsourced much of its manufacturing and ultimately about 25 per cent of the finished product will have been built outside the US.
After obligatory speeches and the performance of the 787 "theme song" the doors of the world's largest aircraft hangar opened and the plane was rolled in to the edge of the crowd.
Boeing said yesterday that it had now sold 677 of the carbon fibre-bodied aircraft to 47 airlines.
At the weekend, German low-cost carrier Air Berlin ordered 25 of the planes, worth US$4 billion, and Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance ordered a further 10. Qantas said on Friday that it planned to order 20 more 787s.
Boeing - which has revenue of US$6.15 billion and more than 150,000 employees worldwide - has seen its share price soar to US$98.88 in response to the 787. The shares have gone up by 50 per cent in the past two years.
Last year it sold 55 per cent of all commercial jets worldwide to take back the market lead from European rival Airbus.
Airlines have been attracted by the fact that the 787 is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than similar aircraft. It is a smaller plane than the 747 but has a similar range, making it attractive to smaller airlines such as Air NZ.
* Liam Dann travelled to Seattle courtesy of Air New Zealand.
