Hi guys,have you ever wondered, why Boeing started the Variant Names of the Dreamliner with -8 or .-9? (-3 was cancelled)In history, they usually started with -1xx or -2xx, not with -8xx and so on:707-100717-100727-100737-100,.....747-100757-100 was planned, but only the -200 ever built, so they started with -200767-200 started also with -2 not with -8 or so777-200 started also with -2 not with -8 or so so why is the Dreamliner starting with -8? what if they produce newer Models of the plane in 20 years? do they put MAX behind like with the NG follower? Seems strange to me and no pattern for this in my sight.Any thoughts of that?

No, they use a different number. It doesn't have to be in chronological order, that's just been the trend for a long time. Airbus have done similar things, with the first A380 introduced being the A380-800 for example, and the first A340 was the -300 model. It's just a model identifier.

I think it has to do with the number 8 being considered lucky in many Asian cultures.

And they'll probabl still add the company codes to it, so it'll become for example B787-823.

Is the 3 definetley cancelled? Virgin wanted some I think

Is the 3 definetley cancelled? Virgin wanted some I think

It was. Low demand for the shorter one, I think. Most airlines didn't get excited about it, probably because it was to close to the B739 size. I stand to be corrected, though.

My bad, I had a brief mental block and though for a second that the -3 was the longer one,

It was. Low demand for the shorter one, I think. Most airlines didn't get excited about it, probably because it was to close to the B739 size. I stand to be corrected, though.

Actually, the -3 was the same size as the -8. It was just gonna be built for shorter, high density routes and more cycles with a lower fuel capacity, mainly for airlines in japan that do the same with the 747-400D, some 767s and some 777s. It was also going to have winglets instead of raked wingtips.

Is the 3 definetley cancelled? Virgin wanted some I think

The 787-3 would have been a 787-8, with shorter wings an with winglets for domestic-haul operations, with slightly higher capacity than the 767-300. ANA and JAL had orders, but eventually converted to the 787-8 or 787-9 variants. Most airlines are too cheap and want to use smaller and smaller narrowbodies for domestic ops, rather than widebodies like in the 1970's. ANA and JAL would have used them on high-density inter-Japan and asia flights.ANA will have two versions of the 787-8, one for domestic and one for international, but the aircraft itself is the same, just the seating density is changed.

so why is the Dreamliner starting with -8? what if they produce newer Models of the plane in 20 years? do they put MAX behind like with the NG follower? Seems strange to me and no pattern for this in my sight.Any thoughts of that?

The models will be the 737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8, and 737 MAX 9, the 737-600 won't be succeded by a MAX model.

Thanks for your Thoughts, still does seem strange to me.

It's also because there is a stigma with 100, and 200 models because they are new, less advanced and fail more. You never want to be the first to buy the first generation of anything.