Aerospace giant Boeing oversaw a successful first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday, almost two and a half years after the new fuel-efficient plane was supposed to leave the ground.

The lightweight carbon and titanium plane is a central element in Boeing's current financial strategy, and could save airlines million of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs.

But production has been hampered by a shortage of bolts, design faults and a two-month strike, and the plane now faces at least nine months of tests before it can make its maiden commercial flight. Tuesday's first test flight was postponed no less than six times.

"The first flight will provide a badly needed perception that the program is on some kind of schedule again," said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst at research firm Teal Group, before takeoff earlier Tuesday. "But it's still a long way from the ultimate result."

The mid-sized aircraft, which promises to carry around 250 passengers over extremely long distances, is already a hit among airlines, who have ordered some 840 planes, worth around $140 billion (96 billion euros). Plans for the Dreamlines were first unveiled in 2004, with Boeing claiming the plane will use 20 percent less fuel than aircraft of comparable size.

Boeing claims that the 840 orders come from 55 customers, making it the "fastest-selling all-new jetliner in aviation history."

Busy rivals, damaging delays

Boeing's main rival Airbus, a unit of Europe's EADS, has been profiting from the delays to attract buyers for its similar A350 plane, which will also be made primarily from carbon-composite materials.

Exactly how much profit Boeing can expect to make from the Dreamliner is still unclear. Analysts estimate the company has invested more than $10 billion in the project, and will have to give some sort of compensation to customers for late deliveries. But how late the planes are, and how they will perform, will not be known until flight tests are complete.

United Airlines announced last week it would buy 25 Dreamliners, as well as 25 A350s, with an option to buy 50 more of each aircraft. But airlines including Russian carrier S7, Dubai-based aircraft leasing company LCAL and Australia's Qantas have all cancelled orders.

The delays in the 787 program contributed to a 1.6-billion-dollar loss in the third quarter of 2009, causing Boeing to slash this year's earnings guidance by more than a third.

Tough tests

The first of the Dreamliner test flights took a four-hour route from its factory 30 miles north of Seattle around the Puget Sound and interior of Washington state, USA. It marked the beginning of a long testing process in which a fleet of six 787s will be flown round the clock.

Boeing's test pilots will push the plane beyond the limits expected in normal commercial flights, flying into mid-air stalls, dives and steep banks, as well as seeking out extremes of heat and cold.

bk/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Sam Edmonds