Boeing Dreamliner orders soar to 790=0APlane more successful at attracting = customers than Airbus=E2=80=99 A380=0AA new order for Boeing 787 Dreamliner= s from British Airways is worth $4.4 billion at list prices =E2=80=94 and p= ushes the total count to 790.=0A View related photos=0AHo / AFP - Getty Ima= ges file=0A=0A LIVE QUOTE=0ASYMBOLLASTCHANGE % CHANGE=0A=E2=80=A2 BA88.94-= 1.06-1.18%=0AQUOTE LOOKUP=0AEnter Company Symbol =E2=80=A2 Lookup symbol= =0A =0A=0AData: MSN Money and IDC Comstock delayed 20 min.=0A=0A Most Pop= ular=0A=E2=80=A2 Most Viewed=E2=80=A2 Top Rated=E2=80=A2 Most E-mailed=0A= =0AWas tiger taunted? Victim's dad wants to know=0A16 secrets restaurants d= on't want you to know=0AMarried man: =E2=80=98I slept with 13 women this we= ek=E2=80=99=0A Man convicted of killing parents is freed on bail=0AIn-flig= ht Internet raises etiquette concerns=0AMost viewed on MSNBC.com=0A35 years= after jetliner crash, hero gets his due=0AHoney making a medical comeback= =0ADead man sends cards from =E2=80=98heaven=E2=80=99=0A'Miracles' after U.= S. soldier decides to adopt Iraqi=0AAriz. cops check all suspects for citiz= enship=0AMost viewed on MSNBC.com=0ABayer recalls Contour test strips for d= iabetes=0AMarried man: =E2=80=98I slept with 13 women this week=E2=80=99=0A= IRS: You may have to wait for your tax refund=0AUnited cancels flights for = fourth straight day=0ASony=E2=80=99s sexy new tube: TV of the future?=0AMos= t viewed on MSNBC.com=0A=0A=0A =0Aupdated 11:23 a.m. ET, Thurs., Dec. 27, 2= 007 =0ACHICAGO - Boeing Co. said Thursday it finalized a deal with British = Airways, notching 790 orders for its long-awaited 787 Dreamliner plane duri= ng the last three years.=0ABritish Airways' order for 24 Dreamliners gives = the plane one of the industry's most successful launches ever =E2=80=94 eve= n though the airliner has yet to take flight.=0AThe Chicago-based aerospace= company expects to fly the first 787 around the end of the first quarter o= f 2008 and begin deliveries in late November or December. It expects to del= iver 109 airplanes in 2009.=0AStory continues below =E2=86=93 =0A=0Aadverti= sement =0A =0A=0A =0A=0A=0A=0A=0AThe 787, Boeing's first newly designed jet= since airlines started flying the 777 in 1995, will be the world's first l= arge commercial airplane made mostly of light, durable less-corrosive carbo= n-fiber composites. Boeing says its new plane will be cheaper to maintain a= nd offer better fuel efficiency and more passenger comforts than planes fly= ing today.=0AAnalysts called the demand for the Boeing plane "unprecedented= ."=0A"This is a breakneck pace," said Morningstar analyst Brian Nelson. "Th= e fact that it continues to get orders and airlines continue to order this = represents great confidence that Boeing can build this plane and deliver th= is plane."=0ABritish Airways placed options for another 18 and purchase rig= hts for an additional 10 787s.=0AThe British Airways deal is worth $4.4 bil= lion at list prices, though carriers usually negotiate deep discounts on si= zable orders.=0A"This order is a vote of confidence from one of the world's= leading global network carriers in the 787's unprecedented performance," s= aid Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales for Europe, Russia and Central A= sia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.=0AMeanwhile Thursday, Brazil's GOL Linhas= Aereas Inteligentes S.A. said it exercised firm orders for 34 Boeing 737-8= 00 NGs, completing the purchase option for 121 aircraft negotiated in Octob= er 2006. The carrier said it signed a new contract for the acquisition of 4= 0 additional aircraft for delivery in 2012-2014.=0A"This new contract will = further reduce GOL's costs and enable us to continue to modernize our fleet= with new aircraft," said Fernando Rockert de Magalhaes, GOL's technical vi= ce president.=0ABoeing's Dreamliner success comes as its European rival Air= bus SAS struggles with its double-decker flagship A380 and its mid-range A3= 50. Wiring and other technical problems delayed delivery of the A380 by two= years.=0A Click for related content=0ABoeing, Airbus end year with strong= finish =0ABoeing to bring manufacturing jobs to India =0ABoeing 787 progra= m not out of woods =0A=0ABoeing was forced to delay the launch of its 787 = =E2=80=94 assembled with components manufactured largely by other companies= =E2=80=94 by six months earlier this year because of outsourcing snags.=0A= The company said Thursday that it signed a $1 billion contract with Russia'= s OAO VSMPO-Avisma to provide titanium forging for the jet from 2011 until = 2015.=0AShares of Boeing fell $1.53 or 1.7 percent to $88.47 in midday trad= ing Thursday.=0A=C2=A9 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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