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'Revolutionary' New Boeing Plane Lands in Europe


Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner has landed in Britain for the plane's debut at an international air show. Some people say the new plane will 'revolutionize' air travel.

The plane has been delayed by more than two years because of a series technical problems. But Boeing President Jim Albaugh says history will forget the setbacks.

"The Boeing company is always a company that innovates, it is always pushing technology, and maybe we did take a little more risk on this airplane than we should have," he said. "And in hindsight, because we are late, maybe we did. But this is an airplane that is going to be around for the next 50 years, and I think people will forget that it was a little bit late. What they will remember is the efficiency of this airplane, the customer experience, and how it is going to change and revolutionize the way people fly," Albaugh added.

Boeing has 860 orders for the plane and the first deliveries of the $200 million plane are not expected until the end of the year or early next year. But the aircraft landed Sunday at Britain's Farborough Airshow for its first international appearance.

Thompson Airlines is set to be the first Britain-based airline to launch the plane. Its Communications Director, Christian Cull says it is unlike anything else on the market.

He says the plane is spacious with big windows and the air is a better quality than on other planes, with 10 percent more oxygen. And he says new anti-turbulence technology makes it almost impossible to get airsick.

He also says the new plane will make jetlag a thing of the past.

"We have got special LED lighting there that will simulate the time as you travel towards Thailand, for example, if it is going to be sunset when you get there by the time you get there the lighting on board will have adjusted so that you do not think you are on board a plane that is still in the middle of the day and touch down in Phuket, for example, and find out it is nighttime. We will adjust it through the course of the night," said Cull.

He says he thinks the new level of comfort will change the way people travel.

"We think people are going to take longer journeys for a less [shorter] period of time," Cull said. "Instead of having to do a fortnight's holiday, a lot of people will go for a week. It also means we can look at places in South America, the British do not holiday as much in South America and there is whole parts there we want to open to the British market," he added.

Cull also says the new plane is better for the environment. The central body of the plane is made entirely of carbon composite material, which makes the plane lighter and more fuel efficient.

Boeing says its engines will emit 20-percent less carbon dioxide than other planes of a similar size.

That is good news, says Anna Jones of environmental campaign group Greenpeace. But, she says, the best thing for the environment would be less planes in the sky.

"The fact is that greater efficiencies in technology are being wiped out by huge increases in the number of planes in our skies," Jones said.

She says emissions from aviation are particularly damaging because they occur at high altitudes, which she says makes taking trains a better way to travel.

Boeing is not the only airplane manufacturer bringing new planes onto the market. Airbus is working on a similar plane series called the A350, which is set to come into service in 2013.

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