Chicago-based Boeing will deliver the first of its much-delayed 787 wide-bodied jets to All Nippon Airways as early as August.  All Nippon is the first customer scheduled to receive the planes.

All Nippon Airways expects to have a total of 14 of the planes by next March. The Japanese airline has 55 of the planes on order.

The two companies showcased the new Dreamliner plane during a joint news conference Wednesday at the annual Paris Air Show, saying it will allow airlines to open up a number of new long-haul routes.

Boeing and Airbus SAS are battling for global dominance of a wide-body jet market that Boeing estimates could be worth $2 trillion during the next two decades.

Overall, Boeing has announced fewer new aircraft orders in Paris than Airbus, but the arrival of the 787 late yesterday caused a lot of neck craning by attendees.

However, developmental problems have delayed the jet’s introduction into passenger service by three years.

The twin-engine 787 is made mostly of carbon fiber and other composite materials, which make it lighter and therefore more fuel-efficient than other mid-sized airliners. 

Boeing expects to deliver up to 20 787s by the end of this year.

By 2013, it plans to achieve a delivery rate of 10 planes a month from its production lines in Everett, Washington, and Charleston, North Carolina.