On board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's first flight to London In the United States, where so far only United has a 787 in its fleet, the Federal Aviation Authority ordered a mandatory check. The fault, it said, could potentially lead to fire, engine failure or the aircraft's running out of fuel. Boeing responded rather huffily that there were "multiple layers of systems to ensure none of those things happens." Speaking to me on the flight to London, Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways, acknowledged that airlines took a risk buying a new aircraft type so early in its life, particularly one as technically innovative as the Dreamliner. He admitted Qatar had experienced several problems. To a certain extent an airline can digest those problems, but of course we cannot accept it if those problems are persisting and are major. Qatar Airways has had a couple of major problems but we are going to overcome them. For a machine that represents a genuine step-change in aircraft design, the 787 is deceptive: it wears its new technology lightly. At 226ins wide, it actually looks slightly portly but its shape is as slippery as a suppository. Instead of some 1500 sheets of aluminium held together with up to 50,000 clasps, prosaically known as fasteners, the fuselage is a single unit, a sort of high-tech onesey. One benefit is that it is quieter. But from the outside you really need to be able to see the blade-like wings to be sure you are not looking at any other mid-sized airliner. Slender as scythes and flicked up at their ends in rakish quiffs, they are things of great beauty and wondrous aerodynamics. In flight they flex like diving boards: as they have a 197ft span, the spectacle is dramatic. And therein lies their marvel, for not only do they increase lift and reduce drag, they change shape for optimum aerodynamic efficiency. Concorde was more than twice as fast; Airbus's mammoth A380 can carry more than three times as many passengers, yet the advances embodied in the unassuming 787 are, in their way, almost as significant. Besides the improvements to passenger comfort, the aircraft gives airlines the possibility of opening up new destinations. The Dreamliner's fuel efficiency means it can fly on routes that were too long for previous aircraft of its size,but that could not sustain the operation of a big airliner. The Dreamliner's most conspicuous gizmo is the window blinds. Gone are the old sliding plastic shutters and in comes "auto-dimming" smart glass, what Boeing call "electronic curtains." At the touch of a button the windows gradually darken until they are completely blacked out. The greatest improvements, though, are invisible. Because of the strength of the composite materials the cabin does not have to be as highly pressurised as conventional aircraft. On the 787 the pressure is equivalent to flying at 6,000 rather than 8,000ft. And because composites don't corrode, the humidity can be increased, reducing levels of dehydration. Crucially, the air is also cleaner. The Dreamliner doesn't use the old "bleed air" system, where cabin air, drawn through the engines, is vulnerable to contamination from any leak of toxic fumes. Instead, the 787 filters fresh cabin air direct from the atmosphere. An airliner of subtle technology, that costs $206 million a piece, is the perfect emblem for Qatar, a country that in two generations has become one of the richest on earth yet whose innate conservatism has shunned the flamboyance of other Gulf states. Dubai it ain't. True, the downtown area of New Doha looks like a showground of skyscrapers, and "new" tends to mean post-1971 when the world's largest single concentration of natural gas was discovered. At odds with that architectural modernity is the strict observance of Islamic custom. Tour guides instruct their clients not to take photographs of women in burqas or local people on beaches; Western women are expected to wear skirts below the knee and to cover their shoulders in places of religious significance. Alcohol is really available only in hotels. The fusion of ancient and modern is epitomised by the Museum of Islamic Art. The cubist building, designed by IM Pei, the Chinese who added the pyramid to the Louvre, contains a magnificent collection of ceramics, carpets, calligraphy, glass and jewellery, all superbly lit and displayed. Just as Pei's building is the casing of the museum, so Boeing's airframe will be furnished by the airlines. Qatar has configured its cabin to carry 252 passengers, 22 in business class. It has dispensed with first class, believing that few people use it these days. Instead, the specially developed seats in business, which of course convert to flat beds, have USB and MP3 ports and a power socket with a universal adaptor. Throughout the aircraft the entertainment system offers more than a thousand options and is controlled by handsets with Android touch screens. There are large seat-back screens in both business and economy - 17-inch in business - and Wi-Fi is available throughout the plane. You can also use your mobile phone - but only for texting. Phone calls, Qatar opines, would cause too much disturbance. Such is the stuff of which Dreamliners are made.