Qantas puts date on first Boeing 787

Qantas has gone public with a delivery time for the first of 50 B787s it has on order.

The aircraft, an -8 series, will enter service with subsidiary Jetstar on international routes in mid 2012.

The airline reached an agreement with the manufacturer to bring forward the delivery of eight B787-8s by around two years.

CEO Alan Joyce confirmed the operator's commitment to the new-generation 787, saying that, "It will be ideal for point-to-point flying on medium density routes, both short and long haul and will allow Jetstar to move into southern Europe as well as build on its Asian network".

And in another line-in-the-sand-type statement, Joyce added that he sees the 787 as one element in a strategy that will enable the airline to "... to maintain and grow our share of the Australian market".

Qantas says that the change to the Group’s B787 order will mean that firm orders remain at 50 aircraft, comprising 15 B787-8s and 35 B787-9s.

The first eight aircraft, all B787-8s, will be delivered from mid-2012, while the remaining seven B787-8s and 35 B787-9s will start to follow from 2014.

Qantas also has options on up to 50 additional 787s.

But aerospace manufacturing being what it has become over the last few years, Qantas has added some fine print which qualifies its in-service schedules: "delivery timeframes are based on current Boeing planning guidance and may be subject to change."

Let's hope not. This is an aeroplane we need to have in widespread commercial service - and we've waited too long for it already.