Global Avionics Round-Up from Aircraft Value News (AVN)
Boeing 787-10. (Photo courtesy of Boeing)
The B787-10 embodies Boeing’s vision of an aircraft designed around integration, with avionics serving as the connective tissue among flight operations, maintenance, and airline economics.
As the largest member of the Dreamliner family, the 787-10 relies on its cockpit systems to deliver efficiency, reliability, and operational transparency across a wide range of long-haul missions. For lessors and fleet planners, these characteristics are central to the aircraft’s enduring market appeal.
The 787-10 flight deck features large digital displays and a highly standardized interface that emphasizes clarity and consistency. Boeing’s design philosophy prioritizes intuitive information flow, allowing pilots to quickly assess aircraft state and trajectory without excessive mode management.
This approach reduces training complexity and supports smoother transitions for crews moving among 787 variants, a factor that airlines value when scaling widebody fleets.
Automation plays a significant role in the 787-10’s avionics, particularly in-flight path management and energy optimization. The flight management system continuously refines lateral and vertical profiles to maintain efficiency while respecting airspace constraints and weather conditions.
On long sectors, this capability helps stabilize fuel burn and arrival times, improving schedule reliability and network planning accuracy. Appraisers increasingly recognize that such predictability enhances asset attractiveness in volatile operating environments.
Health Monitoring and Maintenance
One of the defining strengths of the 787-10 avionics suite is its integration with aircraft health monitoring and maintenance systems. The aircraft continuously collects and transmits operational data that can be analyzed to detect emerging issues before they lead to delays or cancellations.
For lessors, this data-driven visibility supports more informed asset oversight and can reduce disputes around maintenance condition at redelivery. For operators, it enables shorter turn times and higher utilization rates.
The 787-10’s avionics are also designed to meet evolving global standards for navigation, surveillance, and communication. Performance-based navigation capability allows access to optimized routes and constrained airports, while modern data link systems support efficient communication in increasingly congested airspace.
This adaptability is essential for airlines operating across multiple regions and regulatory regimes, and it enhances the aircraft’s suitability for secondary market placements.
The influence of the 787 program on broader avionics trends is substantial. Its emphasis on integrated diagnostics and real-time data exchange has reshaped airline expectations of OEM support and lifecycle services.
Competitors have responded by expanding their own analytics offerings and tightening the integration between cockpit systems and ground operations. What was once viewed as an advanced feature is now becoming a baseline requirement in widebody procurement decisions.
For fleet managers, the 787-10’s avionics contribute directly to network flexibility. The ability to operate long, thin routes with confidence in performance and reliability supports diversified route strategies and reduces reliance on larger, less flexible aircraft. For appraisers, this versatility underpins demand stability and supports residual values, particularly as airlines seek adaptable assets in uncertain market conditions.
The 787-10 demonstrates how avionics integration can elevate an aircraft beyond its physical dimensions. By aligning cockpit innovation with operational economics and data-driven decision-making, Boeing has created a platform whose value extends well beyond fuel efficiency alone.
As these technologies continue to diffuse across new programs, they will shape how the industry defines competitiveness in the long-haul segment for years to come.
This article originally appeared in Aircraft Value News.
John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Aircraft Value News. For recurring updates on aviation topics, subscribe to his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@JohnPersinos