Business
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s Dream Tour is underway.
The fuel efficient airliner will arrive in China today, on 5 December 2011. It will spend one week in the world’s most populous country, making stops at Beijing, Hainan, and Guangzhou.
Representatives from Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Air China, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Aviation Industries of China (AVIC), and Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Co. (CAC) will inspect the craft.
On 11 December the airliner will fly West to Africa, where it will touch down at Addis Ababba, Ethiopia, and Nairobi, Kenya. Officials from Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways will inspect the jetliner.
Next stop is the Middle East, with a visit to Doha to visit Qatar Airways. Subsequent segments of the tour have yet to be announced.
“The 787 Dreamliner is a game changing airplane, and we’re delighted to be able to bring this innovative product to our customers who will soon be receiving their own 787s,” says Ray Conner, vice president of Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
“This airplane is now changing the way the world flies, and we want to share that excitement with as many people as we can.”
The Dreamliner making the tour has been retrofitted with special interior features designed to highlight the airliner’s unique cabin features and performance capabilities.
“Our flight test airplane has turned into a show piece,” says Scott Fancher, Vice President and General Manager of the 787 programme.
“Anyone who has seen the inside of a flight test airplane will be amazed at the transformation. All of the 787 passenger features are here.”
First Mover Advantage
All Nippon Airways was the first airline in the world to take delivery of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
All Nippon launched domestic service in November 2011. It will add service between Tokyo Haneda International Airport and Beijing in December 2011 and between Haneda and Frankfurt, Germany, in January 2011.
Pictured: interior of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Photo Credit: Boeing