Employees and guests surround the new Dreamliner at its world premiere outside the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Washington at the weekend. Boeing said Qatar Airways, which had operated an all-Airbus fleet, has ordered its new long-haul 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Sources said 30 aircraft had been ordered but Boeing would not confirm the number. The order came as figures on the Airbus website showed that the European group had received 680 firm orders in the first six months of the year, including 152 for the A350, while Boeing had 544 over the same period. The orders indicate a revival of fortunes for the Franco-German company after 18 months of bad news.