Boeing 787 Takes Off on First Delivery Flight: VIDEO

The first Boeing 787 for program launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) has taken off on its delivery flight to Tokyo.

ANA’s first Boeing 787 took off at 7:17 a.m. PST, less than half an hour after daylight dawned on a gray day at Everett, Washington, home of Boeing’s widebody final-assembly plant.

Despite the long flight ahead of it to Tokyo Haneda Airport, the aircraft’s take-off roll for flight ANA9397 Heavy was fairly short. As the 787 climbed away a few seconds after take-off, the pilots waggled the 787′s wings in a traditional salute to the many onlookers.

On September 27, 2011, the first Boeing 787 for All Nippon Airways is fitted with a nosewheel towbar preparatory to being towed to the position where it will begin taxiing

Some minutes before the aircraft took off, during Boeing’s webcast of the first-delivery flight event, an unidentified person (most likely a Boeing employee) was heard to say over the webcast: “I hate that plane – but it’s my paycheck.”

ANA technical staff had thoroughly inspected the first Boeing 787 for the Japanese airline on September 24 and 25 and signed off on its delivery condition, allowing Boeing and ANA to complete the contractual delivery of the first customer 787 on the morning of September 25.

Boeing celebrated the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner on September 26, 2011 to launch customer ANA during a ceremony adjacent to the manufacturer's widebody final-assembly plant at Everett, Wahsington, where the aircraft was assembled. More than 500 employees representing the 787 program walked alongside the all-new jetliner to present it to ANA executives as a crowd of thousands looked on

Boeing then celebrated the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner to launch customer ANA during a ceremony adjacent to Boeing’s widebody final-assembly plant at Everett in Washington, where the aircraft was assembled. More than 500 employees representing the 787 program walked alongside the all-new jetliner to present it to ANA executives as a crowd of thousands looked on.

“Today we celebrate a significant moment in the history of flight,” Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and CEO said at the September 26 delivery ceremony.

The first Boeing 787 for program launch customer ANA taxis out to the runway on September 27, 2011 for its delivery flight to Tokyo Haneda Airport

Neglecting to mention Boeing’s own 747, which revolutionized air travel for the masses, and also not mentioning the astonishing achievements represented by the Concorde and Tu-144 supersonic airliners, McNerney continued: “The 787 Dreamliner is the biggest innovation in commercial aviation since the Boeing 707 introduced the world to passenger jet travel more than 50 years ago. I want to thank ANA and all the employees of Boeing and our partner companies for the talent, technology and teamwork that have brought this game-changing airplane to life.”

During the ceremony, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh presented a ceremonial key to Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA.

“It’s not often that we have the chance to make history, do something big and bold that will change the world in untold ways and endure long after we are gone,” said Albaugh. “That’s what the 787 Dreamliner is and what ANA and Boeing have done together – build what truly is the first new airplane of the 21st century.”

ANA's first Boeing 787 takes off on its delivery flight to Tokyo Haneda Airport at 7:17 a.m. PST on September 27, 2011

“We are delighted to be taking delivery finally of our first 787. ANA is extremely proud to be the launch customer for the Dreamliner and to have helped Boeing so closely in the development of this state-of-the-art aircraft,” said Ito. “The Dreamliner will enable us to offer unrivalled standards of service and comfort to our passengers and will play a key part in ANA’s plans for international expansion.”

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Tagged as: All Nippon, ANA, Boeing 787, Boeing 787 first delivery, Dreamliner, The Boeing Company