Whilst there 787-8 is going through some issues, the future of the 787 programme continues apace. Whilst the 787-10 (which was confirmed at Paris 2013) is still a while away, the 787-9 is a lot closer than most think – with the first aircraft rolling out in new Boeing house colours
First 787 rolled out of the paint shop – Images – The Boeing Company.
The paintwork is a slight departure from the current 787 “Dreamliner” livery (which Thomson and United Airlines liked so much – they “adapted” it for their airlines), but this one has a big olde 9 on the tail – so you can spot it’s a -9 series.
The 787-9 is the first “stretch” of the 787 aircraft, adding 20ft/6 meters to it, with the ability to add 40 more passengers than the baseline 787-8 and 300 nautical miles extra range. The next stretch of course is the 787-10.
The first customers to get their hands on this plane will be Air New Zealand – who have a fleet of 10 of this class of 787 on order.
It’s good to see progression as Boeing learns the lessons of a difficult few months for Dreamliner project. hopefully the 787-9 will have a smoother introduction into service that it’s 787-8 cousins…