Richard Aboulafia, a prominent aviation consultant, said the Dreamliner will be crucial for American as it competes with United and Delta to attract premium passengers on international routes. He suggests that American will fly it to Asia, the Middle East and secondary cities in Europe. "It is absolutely the plane you want to fly point-to-point internationally," he said, "and it's at its best at longer ranges" where the fuel efficiency pays off most.

The venture had the good fortune to propose a brand-new engine concept in the mid-1970s, around the time that the United States Air Force was considering a revamp of its entire fleet of aerial refueling tankers. At about the same time, Boeing and Airbus were preparing to develop the generation of short-range single-aisle jets that have become the workhorses of the air travel industry. “From an industry standpoint, this was a winning lottery ticket,” said Richard L. Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia.

“An analyst said France has an image to maintain as a reliable arms vendor. “The French have the reputation that if they sign a contract they’ll deliver,” said Joel Johnson, analyst with the Teal group. “The French will hold their nose longer than the US will.” Johnson said, however, that France’s reputation could quickly be altered if it decides against delivering the ship. “They’ll end up with a reputation like the US,” Johnson said. “If you look at Latin America, they don’t see the US as a reliable supplier. In cases like that, the French have moved in.”

Success would mark the 36th completed mission for the company since 1999, and its first since December 2012. Sea Launch still is reeling from a 2009 bankruptcy in which Boeing relinquished a majority share. The ills continued this year with the departure of President Kjell Karlsen and the delay of Sea Launch’s latest mission. “Their whole history has been one of challenges,” said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for the aerospace and defense market research firm Teal Group Corp. “It’s a company that’s really a survivor. I’d never count them out.”

The business aviation market’s shift toward larger aircraft continues, and the effect on the industry is growing, according to Teal Group’s latest annual business jet overview. “Last year saw a welcome but largely meaningless upturn, with an impressive 16.3-percent increase in deliveries by value,” said Teal vice president of analysis Richard Aboulafia. “But all of this growth came from large-cabin jets, particularly Gulfstream’s G650. All the smaller segments remained firmly stuck in first gear.”

During the 2008 to 2012 decline, the top half of the market–jets costing $26 million and more–actually grew slightly in value, he added, while the bottom half suffered a catastrophic 56-percent drop. “The growth we saw in 2013 means that market bifurcation has gone into overdrive,” Aboulafia explained.