Dreamliner Big

It might have taken 3 years longer than expected, but it's here:

The first $200 million aircraft was handed over to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways three years behind schedule after persistent delays that cost Boeing billions of dollars.

It's special:

Boeing says the revolutionary carbon fiber design will hand 20 percent fuel savings to airlines struggling to avoid a new recession, and give passengers a more comfortable ride with better cabin air and large electronically dimmable windows.

Here's the Dreamliner taking off for the first time:

Free at last! Free at last! God almighty, it is free at last!

Remember when you were little and planes were cool? The world seemed so big, yet these planes made it seem so small. Now we take them for granted.

The Dreamliner is a big deal for Boeing:

The Seattle Times reported on Sunday that 787 program costs had topped $32 billion due to delays. That estimate raised questions, the newspaper said, over whether the new jet would make money for Boeing before "well into the 2020s, if ever."

Boeing declined comment.

Analysts say new jets typically cost closer to $15 billion.

They invested a lot in this aircraft. They need to win battles with Airbus for airline fleets. This new innovative vehicle can help them do that. One of the markets they want to really make a killing in is China:

BEIJING—Boeing Co. is engaged in "very advanced discussions" with Chinese airlines to revitalize sales there of its 787 Dreamliner, according to a senior sales executive, as the U.S. plane maker competes with rival Airbus for a greater share of the growing market.

It's a strategc measure:

Boeing officials say the company needs to win more orders in China, one of the fastest-growing commercial aircraft markets, where competition from Airbus is becoming stiffer. Airbus's China president, Laurence Barron, said in a separate interview Wednesday that it expects to account for a 50% share of China's commercial-jet market by 2013. Also speaking on the sidelines of Aviation Expo, Mr. Barron said he expects Airbus's market share in China to be 47% by the end of this year. Airbus is a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.

And it has a lot of potential for the company:

Earlier this month, Boeing raised its 20-year forecast for China's spending on commercial aircraft by 25%, citing planned international expansion by airlines in what the company expects will become the world's second-biggest aircraft market after the U.S. In that forecast, Boeing said it expects Chinese carriers and others to spend $600 billion for 5,000 new commercial airplanes from Boeing, Airbus and other manufacturers. Boeing last year estimated that China would spend $480 billion on 4,330 planes over the next 20 years.

This is just a really neat airplane:

I can't wait to experience this in person. As a fan of engineering and technology, I think this plane is a fantastic innovation. I hope it does great. It sounds like it took to account many of the things that are happening in the world. Boeing is not only trying to be more fuel efficient, but it's also trying to provide a quieter, more comfortable experience. The Dreamliner is everything you want as far as a step forward.