Infrastructure

Home page

Infrastructure

Boeing 787 Dreamliner on track for delivery

02 September 2011 14:06 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) and aviation giant Boeing said on Friday that the airline will receive the world’s first 787 Dreamliner on September 25, more than three years later than first planned.

The ANA plane will be delivered in Everett, Washington before being flown to Tokyo where it is scheduled to arrive on September 28, the companies said in a joint statement.

"The airplane is ready. ANA is ready. And, Boeing is ready," Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement. "This airplane begins a new chapter in aviation history."

ANA is the launch airline for the troubled 787 program, and has 55 of the aircraft on order.

Boeing had originally promised to roll out the aircraft in 2008. But a string of technical mishaps and delays have slowed the testing programmes for the jets.

The highly anticipated 787 Dreamliner is made out of lighter materials that help increase its fuel efficiency, while it boasts larger windows and more humid cabin air than conventional jets, which designers say will allow passengers to arrive at their destinations more refreshed.

ANA this week said it will conduct the first commercial flights of Boeing 787 Dreamliners from Tokyo to Hong Kong in October, followed by regular services to Beijing and Frankfurt.

The Japanese carrier said aircraft will fly on October 26 and 27 from Narita, near Tokyo, to Hong Kong and will also conduct excursion flights departing from and landing in Narita as a part of a promotional campaign.

Domestic flights from Tokyo’s Haneda airport to western cities of Okayama and Hiroshima will start from November, it said.

The aircraftâ€™s first regular international service will start from December for the Haneda-Beijing route, followed by the Dreamliner’s first regular long-haul international operation between Haneda and Frankfurt from January.