The first passenger flight of the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's first new aircraft in 16 years, greeted the smoggy Hong Kong skyline yesterday after leaving the blue skies of Tokyo earlier in the day.
Boeing claims the aircraft will take the flight experience to new heights, but the launch could not have come at a worse time given the gathering storm clouds over the global economy and its impact on aviation.
Delayed for three and a half years due to production hiccups, All Nippon Airways (ANA) operated its first 787 to Hong Kong on a charter flight. Twenty of the planes will be delivered to ANA by next year, with another 35 aircraft by 2017.
'It's been a hard time for the 787 [due to the delay],' said Shinichiro Ito, president and chief executive of ANA, yesterday during the flight. He is however thrilled that the plane, which was meant to be launched in May 2008 before the Beijing Olympics, will be available for the London Olympics next year.
The new plane, which could help ANA save about US$131 million a year as it uses 20 per cent less than similar-sized planes, may be worth the wait. The 787 is the first commercial aircraft to make the wholehearted leap from metal to a lightweight composite structure, making it cheaper to fly. About 50 per cent of the aircraft is constructed from composite material, such as carbon fibre-reinforced resin, compared with 12 per cent on the Boeing 777.
Boeing claims there are other advantages besides fuel efficiency. Passengers will feel less fatigue because the cabin air pressure is set at an altitude of 6,000 feet, instead of 8,000 feet in other airliners. That is only possible because the composite material can withstand the greater air pressure from the inside of the cabin.