Boeing is forecasting that it will sell 162 Dreamliners worth more than $25 billion (£12.7 billion) in the next year to confirm the 787 as the most successful commercial aircraft launch in history.

Internal Boeing estimates indicate that the 787 Dreamliner will beat the previous bestseller, the Boeing 737 Next Generation, which took to the skies in 1998 with 730 orders. The 787 is scheduled to enter service next May with All Nippon Airways, and Boeing has already hit sales of 568, worth $88 billion at list prices. To beat the sales record of the 737, Boeing will have to sell a further 162 aircraft.

Martin Bentrott, the vice-president of sales and marketing at Boeing, said: “The 737 Next Generation had 730 orders when it went into service, and we think we are going to beat that with the 787.”

The 787’s fast start at winning orders will put enormous pressure on Airbus, Boeing’s arch rival, which is still at least six years from putting its competitor model into service. The stakes are high for both companies, as estimates suggest that the mid-sized market that the 787 will serve is worth $1.4 trillion over the next 20 years.

The 787 programme is so important to Boeing and its investors that senior executives have staked their reputations on bringing the aircraft to market without delays. This is a bold step because Airbus’s problems with its A380 superjumbo, which is two years late, demonstrate the difficulties of bringing complex engineering projects to completion on time.

However, the 787 is important because of the enormous sums of money involved and the pressure that it is putting on an already-weakened Airbus. Analysts are calling the Dreamliner the most significant step forward in the industry since the introduction of Concorde in 1976.

This is because the 787 will be the first commercial jet to be built from composite materials, such as carbon fibre, rather than aluminium. This has enabled Boeing to cut the weight of the aircraft and increase its fuel efficiency by 20 per cent over the 767, the model that it is replacing.

This is significant given the growing concern over the industry’s contribution to climate change, which is prompting airlines to replace their old fleets. Last month Virgin Atlantic said that it would buy up to 42 Dreamliners to replace its gas-guzzling A340s. The 787’s carbon-fibre construction will help to cut costs by reducing maintenance by about 30 per cent because of the elimination of metal fatigue in the fuselage.

Like a dream

–– 240 to 280 seats
–– Rolls-Royce engines are being built in Derby
–– Messier-Dowty landing gear built in Gloucester

Source: Boeing

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