British Airways takes delivery of its first Boeing 787-9
This week saw British Airways receive its first Boeing 787-9. The new Dreamliner landed at Heathrow on Wednesday morning and is the first of 22 aircraft due to be delivered to the airline from Boeing.
The 787-9, now the most technologically advanced aircraft in British Airways’ fleet, is 20ft longer than its 787-8 predecessor and, in a first for the 787 fleet, offers a
as well as World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and Club World (business class). Thus, British Airways becomes the first European airline to install first class on a Dreamliner. The First cabin houses an intimate eight seats, as opposed to the 14 seats available on British Airways’ other long-haul aircraft.
BA's new First cabin After an intensive ‘entry into service’ programme, which will include ground trials and familiarisation trips, the new aircraft will take off on its maiden route from London to Delhi from October 25, 2015, followed by Abu Dhabi and Muscat from November 5, 2015. The 787-9 will also fly to Kuala Lumpur in December and Austin in February next year.
B787-9
Mitch Preston,
British Airways’ Flight Technical Manager for the Boeing 787 fleet, and the pilot who flew the aircraft to Heathrow, said: ”It’s always a privilege to be the first pilot to fly an aircraft on its delivery flight. I was lucky enough to bring our first 787-8 to Heathrow in 2013 too. Flying with just the small delivery team on board is a very different experience to a normal flight with customers on board. I’m really looking forward the first one of those – I think our customers will really enjoy the latest addition to our fleet.” To celebrate the arrival of the new Dreamliner, British Airways released a time-lapse video of the aircraft being built in Seattle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SJZk9vNS8NE
