Boeing 787 Dreamliner ZA001 at Paine Field.
What is in a name? Well a lot actually. Could you imagine the Boeing 787 not being called the Dreamliner? Well, it almost happened. The 787 was almost called the Global Cruiser instead.
When the Boeing 787 was first discussed, Boeing named it the 7E7. Randy Tinseth, Vice President , Marketing for Boeing Commercial Planes, describes the naming process on his Randy’s Journal Blog.
Tinseth explains how there were many different naming sessions and workshops to come up with a proper name. After many different sessions and post the trademark and legal teams it seemed that the name Global Cruiser was leading the pack.
Boeing decided to hold a contest to see what the name would be. The finalists were: Dreamliner, Global Cruiser, Stratoclimber, and the eLiner.
Almost 500,000 votes came in from 160 different countries and it was a close race. Counting just votes in the US, the name Global Cruiser would have won. But with all the votes world-wide, the name Dreamliner won by only 2500 votes.
I couldn’t imagine the Dreamliner being named anything else — it fits the aircraft well. Although if Global Cruiser would have won, the DreamLifter probably would have been called the Global Lifter which sounds pretty sweet.
Do you think something would have been lost or gainedwith another name?
….Deadline Loser
If the Boeing 787 aircraft series doesn’t get certified soon, it will instead be called the ‘Nightmare-Liner’, regardless of its beautiful exterior, and throughout aviation industry.
Frankly the first drawings were the best the damn thing has ever looked, since then it has morphed in looking just like any other aircraft. Dreamliner…with the emphasis on dream is about right. 787 is far more realistic though.