ANA's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner (JA801A) waits in the dark next to the Future of Flight
It was cold, dark and windy, but all worth it to catch the delivery flight of All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) first Boeing 787 Dreamliner delivery flight.
Media watches on as ANA's first 787 gets pushed back.
ANA’s first 787 (JA801A was parked next to the Future of Flight as airline employees loaded up and prepared for their flight to Haneda (HND). The flight was scheduled to take off around 6:35am, but was delayed a bit until about 7:15am. This was okay, since it allowed a little more light before lift off. The aircraft lined up and took off heading south. After lift off, the pilots waved the wings to say good bye.
JA801A lines up for take off at Paine Field.
It was very emotional for Boeing employees who were gathered on the Strato Deck on top of the Future of Flight. Some had tears of happiness, since so much of their life has been tied up in making the 787 successful.
ANA pilots wave the wings as they head off to Japan.
JA801A will be arriving in Tokyo just before 9am local time to another great celebration. You can follow the flight status on FlightAware.com.
MORE PHOTOS OF THE ANA 787 DREAMLINER DELIVERY FLIGHT
Thanks for the reports and pictures – you brought much of the excitement and happiness to many of us who couldn’t be there. Great day for Boeing, and commercial aviation.
“since so much of their life has been tied up in making the 787 successful.”
How old are these employees? 5? 6?
No way Bart. I mean I have worked on long-term projects, maybe a year or two. I wouldn’t imagine working on one for seven years and going through all the problems, delays and issues and finally seeing it fly off to its new home for the first time. That is pretty powerful.
I know at the first flight there were quite a few “tough” Boeing engineers who were crying too.
David