Lyrical start for 787

Has Qantas’s love affair with the 787 just begun?

Over 60 years ago Eastern Airline’s president Eddie Rickenbacker commented to Donald Douglas Snr when buying a fleet of Douglas DC‑8s that he wasn’t buying an airplane he was buying integrity.

Rickenbacker had asked Douglas if he could reduce the noise on the jet engines. Douglas left the room to consult with his engineers and came back to say they would do their best but couldn’t guarantee it. It was the right answer with Rickenbacker saying he knew no-one could guarantee to cut the noise.