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.”
United Airline's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner (line number 45) on the factory floor on September 25, 2011.
A few weeks ago there were rumors that United’s first 787 Dreamliner might have gone into the paint booth. As an airline geek, this is exciting news. It would mean that we get to see the 787 in a United livery and we get to find out if United is going to dress their first 787 in a special livery.
As time passed and no 787 in United livery came out of the paint booth, I started to wonder… where the heck is United’s first Dreamliner?
I reached out to United and they said that their plane was out of the factory, but has not gone into paint. “We are quite excited for this revolutionary aircraft to join our fleet,” Mary Ryan with United Airlines communications explained to AirlineReporter.com. “As for the status of our first 787, unfortunately the rumor is untrue: the aircraft is out of the assembly process but has not yet gone into paint.”
Bummer, but my guess is that we won’t miss it since I expect United to celebrate their first aircraft.
There were other rumors that aircraft #45 might not be going to United Airlines anymore. No worries Boeing confirmed to me that, “there has been no change to the customer who will take delivery of [L/N45].”
The last rumor is that United is planning to paint their Dreamliner in a special livery. Although it is likely, my bet is do not expect a revolutionary change. My guess is that the globe will still be apart of the 787 and that United is not planning on an entirely new livery for their entire fleet. I know there are some of you hoping that United will unveil an entirely new livery starting with the 787 Dreamliner, but they have spent millions on transitioning to the globe and I highly doubt they will work towards another look.
The livery rumors will have to remain out there for the time being. We might just have to wait until the big unveil, which at this time no one knows when it will be.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) recently announced an updated livery for the Boeing 787s and finally they are being seen out in the wild. ANA’s third 787 (registered JA805A) was officially delivered on December 30th, but it was not flown to Japan until January 4, 2012.
On January 14th, JA805A was used on the 787’s first regularly scheduled international flight from Haneda (HND) to Beijing (PEK). JA805A is ANA’s first 787 to have their international interior configuration with new staggered business class seating. ANA’s fourth 787 Dreamliner (JA807A) was delivered and flown to Tokyo on January 13th and most likely will be used on the Handeda (HND) to Frankfurt (FRA) route that ANA expects to start on January 21, 2012.
Here are some photos showing JA805A and JA806A’s new livery and interior:
ANA Boeing 787 (JA805A) departing Haneda Rwy34R as ANA1255 in the morning of 14 Jan 2012. Photo by Runway21R.
First scheduled international flight of 787 Dreamliner (JA805A) from Haneda (HND) to Beijing (PEK) on January 14, 2012. Photo by Kentaro Iemoto.
ANA Boeing 787 (JA805A) departing Haneda Rwy34R as ANA1255 in the morning of 14 Jan 2012. Photo by Runway21R.
First scheduled international flight of 787 Dreamliner (JA805A) from Haneda (HND) to Beijing (PEK) on January 14, 2012. Photo by Kentaro Iemoto.
ANA JA806A parked at Paine Field on December 27, 2012. Photo by James Polivka.
ANA's configuration for long haul service. Image from ANA.
All images found on Flickr and done by:
* James Polivka
* Runway21R
* Kentaro Iemoto
Boeing 787 Dreamliner JA805A landing at Paine Field on December 23rd.
I am just getting word directly from All Nippon Airways (ANA) that they did complete the paperwork on the 30th of December for the delivery of their third 787 Dreamliner. Although ANA will not take possession of the aircraft until January 4th, the airline considers the signing of the paperwork as the “official delivery date.”
The aircraft will be JA805A (L/N 31), configured for long-haul international service.
Boeing had hoped to deliver five to seven Dreamliners in 2011, but additional delays hurt that timeline. They delivered their first 787 (JA801A) to ANA on September 27, 2011 and their second (JA802A) on October 15th, 2011.
Image: Jame Polivka
Starting with their 3rd 787, ANA will paint all future Dreamliners with this special livery. Photo from ANA.
That chances are that most of you who read this blog, won’t have any trouble telling the difference between a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft. For those who might not have the keen-airliner-eye, it could be a bit more of a challenge. All Nippon Airways (ANA), the launch customer for the 787, is trying to make spotting them a bit easier with an updated livery just for their Dreamliners.
ANA’s first two 787s were painted in a unique livery to celebrate taking delivery of the 787 first. Starting with their third aircraft, the airline will have the numbers “787” clearly painted on the side of the aircraft, where the rest of the livery will be unchanged. So when will ANA take delivery of their third Dreamliner? No one is certain, but Boeing is hoping before the end of the year (aka in two days).
Boeing has stated that they plan to deliver three more 787 Dreamliners to ANA before the calendar reaches 2012. This is yet another delay in the 787 schedule. Normally I am put off when almost any story that is written about the 787 includes the word “delay” — many times even in the title. However, this is a whole new delay and just because Boeing delivered their first two 787s does not mean there aren’t new aircraft hiccups that keep popping up.
According to the Seattle Times, Boeing was planning to deliver five to seven Dreamliners by the end of the year, which is still less than they origionally planned. Then the FAA found some issues with wiring and now Boeing is struggling to deliver any additional 787s to ANA before 2011 is over .
Originally, ANA had hope to take delivery of their third Dreamliner in November and wanted to use it on flights from Tokyo to Beijing in December. Instead, it sits at Paine Field, waiting to head to Japan. At least ANA is enjoying the two 787s they are currently operating (JA801A and JA802A). Airline spokeswoman Jean Saito told the Seattle Times that, “the first two Dreamliners, operating on domestic routes in Japan, have had a smooth entry into service.”
The rumors I am hearing is that Boeing is seriously planning to deliver at least one additional 787 Dreamliner to ANA in the next few days. That doesn’t leave much time — I only hope that the rumors are true.
