The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off Tuesday for its new home in Japan, an all-new composite passenger plane the US aerospace giant touts as a game changer in the aviation industry. All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for the 787 program, took delivery of the twin-aisle plane on Sunday, more than three years behind schedule due to design and production delays.
Painted in ANA's special blue, white and red livery, the first 787 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington at 1418 GMT. It is expected to land Wednesday at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The Japanese airline will be the first in the world to offer commercial service on the 787, beginning in late October.
ANA plans to fly the aircraft on October 26 and 27 from Narita, Tokyo's other main airport, to Hong Kong, in the world's first passenger flight of the Dreamliner. The airline will also conduct excursion flights on October 28 and 29 from Narita as a part of promotional campaign. Domestic flights from Tokyo's Haneda airport to western cities of Okayama and Hiroshima are scheduled to begin on November 1.
The Dreamliner's first regular international service will start from December for the Haneda-Beijing route, and then it will fly from Haneda to Frankfurt beginning in January. ANA has another 54 Dreamliners on order. The 787 is the first mid-sized airplane capable of flying long-range routes, responding to passengers' demands for non-stop travel, the Chicago-based Boeing says. Half-built with lightweight composite materials, it consumes 20 percent less fuel than comparable planes its size, according to Boeing.
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