DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The Boeing [NYSE: BA] 787 Dreamliner received its 1,000^th customer order today when Etihad Airways announced an order for 30 787-10 Dreamliners, valued at $8.7 billion at list prices. With this order, the Dreamliner family has reached this sales milestone faster than any other widebody airplane in aviation history.

Launched in April 2004, the 787 family received its 1000^th order in approximately nine years, about eight years faster than the popular Boeing 777. Including today’s announcement, the 787 Dreamliner has accumulated 1,012 orders from 60 customers worldwide.

“Our ongoing investment in the 787 is well-founded and is apparent by the record time in which the Dreamliner family received its 1,000^th order,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. “We are truly grateful for the continued confidence that our customers have placed in the 787 and together, we are excited about growing the product line and expanding our presence with this family of airplanes.”

Etihad now has 71 787 Dreamliners on order and is the world’s largest airline customer for the airplane.

“This is a significant, timely and essential order for us, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary and plan for our next decade and beyond,” said Etihad Airways President and CEO James Hogan. “In just 10 years, we have grown from a start-up carrier to a global airline. This order enables us to build upon our achievements, using the next generation of aircraft to support our next generation of development.”

In addition to bringing big-jet ranges to midsize airplanes, the 787 family provides airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency, resulting in exceptional environmental performance. The airplane uses at least 20 percent less fuel with 20 percent fewer emissions than today’s similarly sized airplanes. Airlines also realize more cargo revenue capacity — a 20 to 45 percent advantage over similarly sized airplanes.

The first member of the family, the 787-8, entered service in September 2011, and the longer 787-9 is in testing and on track to deliver in mid-2014. To date, 102 787 Dreamliners have been delivered to 16 customers around the world.

The 787-10 will be the third and longest member of the family. With its greater passenger and cargo capacity and high degree of commonality, the 787-10 will set a new benchmark for fuel efficiency and operating economics. The 787-10 will be 25 percent more efficient than airplanes of its size today and more than 10 percent better than anything offered by the competition for the future. Final assembly and flight test of the 787-10 are set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2018.