HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). JAL's Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking off at Paine Field. Photo by Boeing.
Today, Japan Airlines (JAL) has officially taken delivery of their first Boeing 787 Dreamliner (JA822J). There are also strong rumors that JAL might take (or has already taken) delivery of their second aircraft (JA825J) as well.
Although the official paperwork has been signed, Boeing and JAL will not celebrate the delivery until tomorrow morning. There are some smaller media events today (ie tour of the 787 flight simulator), but the main event will start at about 9:30am PT on Monday and last until Noon. You are invited to follow along with the delivery adventure via Twitter; be sure to follow #JAL787, @AirlineReporter, @FlightBlogger and of course @BoeingAirplanes.
UPDATE: Boeing confirmed that they delivered two 787 Dreamliners to JAL on the 25th.
HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). JAL Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Paine Field. Photo by Boeing.
Japan Airlines (JAL) announced today that they plan to take official delivery of their first 787 Dreamliner this Sunday, March 25th, with a delivery ceremony to follow on the 26th. The aircraft is then scheduled to take off from Paine Field at about 4pm local time on Monday to head to Narita in Tokyo with JAL pilots at the controls.
The airline plans to start operating their first Dreamliner on their new Boston to Tokyo route, currently scheduled to start on April 22, 2012. JAL has also announced the intention of starting 787 service between San Diego and Tokyo later in the year.
HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). Executive Class cabin on JAL's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Photo by Boeing.
JAL becomes the second airline to take delivery of a 787, but this aircraft will represent a few firsts: It will be the first one to be delivered with GEnx engines, the first to be commercially fly a route to the US and the first to be used on a brand new route (ANA’s 787s have replaced other aircraft on routes that already existed).
The first aircraft is configured in a two class layout, with 42 seats in business class and 144 seats in economy.
HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). The economy cabin inside JAL's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Photo by Boeing.
The business (or executive) class seats are in a 2-2-2 layout and provide about 60″ of seat pitch and a bit over 21″ of width. The seat will recline to about 171 degrees. The Economy class is configured in a 2-4-2 layout and will provide 31″ seat pitch and 18.5″ seat width.
HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). JAL's Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking off at Paine Field. Photo by Boeing.
JAL’s new in-flight entertainment system, called SKY MANGA, will also debut on the aircraft. The interior has a very different looking atmosphere than ANA’s Dreamliner cabin.
Most people were probably distracted by President Obama, but if you look close, you can see the joint on the 787, meaning it has not been painted. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / NYCAviation
Yesterday President Obama made a visit to the Boeing Factory at Paine Fieldand he was able to make a speech in front of United’s first 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft looked to be in standard United livery, making it seem that they might not be planning a special livery, but look a bit closer. You can see the joints of the plane, meaning it is not painted.
The Globe looked pretty good on this 787, but don't get attached. It is coming off -- at least for now.
The opportunity to have Obama stand in front of a 787 is something you do not want to pass up. Problem was that no 787 has been painted in an airline’s livery based in the US. No problem; you can slap some decals on the plane and make it look (on the most part) ready for service — and that is just what Boeing did.
United's "new" livery continues to grow on me and I think it will look good on the Dreamliner. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / NYCAviation.
“The unfinished plane wore temporary decals showing United’s standard livery to serve as a backdrop for the event,” Mary Ryan with United communications explained to AirlineReporter.com. So now, the big question still remains: will United be painting their first 787 Dreamliner in a special livery?
Starting at about 1pm on 2/9 and ending on the morning of 2/10, Boeing 787 ZA236 created this epic design. Click for larger. Image from FlightAware.com.
The fact that Boeing just spent almost 19 hours flying one of their 787 Dreamliners around the country, creating a “787” and Boeing logo has multiple levels to it. First, it is just frek’n awesome. Even though Boeing made a “747” in the sky recently with a 747-8F and also flew over 48 states with a 747-8I, this one takes the cake. Those other two mostly required straight lines and really the “747” was a bit shaky. Not only were these 787 pilots able to successfully make a “787,” but also the full Boeing logo — what an accomplishment. Not quite sure how a pilot might put that on their resume, but I hope that they do!
Boeing’s goal for the flight was not just to make a cool design in the sky, but to also put the GEnx-1B engines to the test. From Randy Tinseth, vice president, marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, stated this morning on his blog, “It was an 18 hour Maximum ETOPS (Extended Operations) Duration flight test for a 787-8 with GE engines. Our team coordinated with the many air traffic control centers, choosing the routing to avoid restricted airspace. In the end, the flight covered over 9,000 nautical miles.”
ZA236 inside the Boeing factory on 9/25/11. Photo by AirlineReporter.com
Digging a bit deeper, I think this is strong evidence to show how much Boeing has changed over the last few years. I have followed Boeing’s change from being a company that really did not reach out to fans to one that celebrates the fact that they are loved by so many. From Boeing starting and becoming successful with social media to creating a YouTube channel, they have come a long way and they keep showing their growth.
Boeing had a task to operate a 787 Dreamliner for a long test flight and they could have easily ran a big circle or up and down the coast. Instead, they decided to put in quite a few hours to plan and execute this historic sky-writing flight.
I am sure that Boeing was hoping to keep this a surprise, but I know there are many fans out there who track every movement of every Boeing 787 Dreamliner and it is hard to keep this sort of thing hidden from the internet — especially when it takes almost 19 hours to complete.
So cheers to Boeing for pulling this off and to those eagle eyes who caught it!
SEE SCREEN SHOTS OF THE DESIGN IN PROCESS
This Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight is EPIC!
This is a live shot (well about 5min old) of flight aware catching a Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking an interesting route east across the US. It might look a bit like a “787” and the future path is showing that it might be in the process of making a “-8.”
I gave a quick call to Boeing and they aren’t will to say what is going on (yet), but I expect more details to be released once the plane lands back at 7am at KBFI (where it took off). Until then, you can spend the next 12 hours watching this Dreamliner make an epic flight.
Last August, Boeing did something similar with the 747-8, making a “747” flight plan over the US during the 747-8F’s final test flight.
Working on more info and will update…
UPDATE 7:45PM
Wow, I didn’t zoom out enough (thanks Pat) … The flight path shows not only are they making a “787-8” but also the entire Boeing logo. You might be an AvGeek if watching this live gives you goose bumps! This is truly a work of art.
Did the special flight of this Boeing 787 get called off? Or is Flight Aware showing wrong info.
UPDATE 7:55PM
Uh oh… the flight status is not showing the full Boeing logo anymore and now the aircraft is heading back to KBFI, with a return time of 10:51PM PST.
UPDATE 8:05PM
Flight Aware is not known to be the most accurate and now the landing time is showing at 8:34pm. My guess is the 787 is continuing on with its full logo.
On track to do the full logo.
UPDATE 8:20PM
Looks like the plane is making a nice arch up to the northeast and a sharp turn to the southeast, meaning it is still on track to make the full logo. According to Jon Ostrower, this is aircraft is ZA236 (which is set to be delivered to Air India) and is working the final flying certification flights for the GEnx-1B engines.
Gotta love Flight Aware.
Taken at 9:05PM PST, Flight Aware is back to showing the original flight plan that we haven't seen for a while.
UPDATE 8:55PM
Yea, I am going with Flight Aware doesn’t know what is going on. Looks like the aircraft is on target to making the origional design and I am not quite sure what this one is supposed to be.
What a cool design!
UPDATE 2/10 7:15AM
As most of the US slept last night, the Boeing 787 kept on its mission to mark the sky with a full Boeing logo. As of now, the Dreamliner is still in the air and is scheduled to land at Paine Field at about 8:30am. The aircraft is taking the same journey west as it did east, back tracking over the original “787.”
