According to Boeing, new technology will soon make it possible for planes to be constructed mostly from non-metal composite materials aka plastics. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner which is set to debut in 2007, is the first of a new generation of planes. These next-gen planes use carbon-fiber based composite materials instead of metals which make them lighter and more fuel efficient, in fact the 787 Dreamliner is almost 20% more efficient than Boeing’s current 767 models.

Another advantage of using composite materials is that they don’t fatigue or corrode like metals do. This composite technology is expected to eventually make its way into the production lines of Boeing’s current aircraft models. Boeing’s popular 737 line could be built using a similar technique and could consist of up to 50% composite material which in the long run is expected to reduce the aircraft’s cost. via CNN