500 employees walk with ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner during the delivery celebration today.
It was cold and it was very wet, but the celebration was still great. The event was set up outside the Boeing Factory at Paine Field. By the stage was ZA002 in standard ANA livery and down the way sat the 24th 787 with special ANA 787 livery (JA802A). The first 787 to go to ANA, JA801A, was seen parked next to the Future of Flight for its first flight early tomorrow morning. Almost right on time, the 787 in special ANA livery was pulled towards the stage with 500 Boeing employees walking with it.
Scarfs were handed out and then raised in celebration during the 787 Delivery event. A 787 (ZA002) looks on.
After JA802A arrived to the stage, everyone cheered. Hundreds of Boeing workers stood in the rain while executives from both Boeing and ANA talked about this historic event. The first 787 for ANA, JA801A is set to take off tomorrow at 6:35am PDT. Boeing will offer another live feed via their website and I will be there on Twitter as well.
Boeing employees huddle under the 787 Dreamliner to get out of the rain.
“Today we celebrate a significant moment in the history of flight,” said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. “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.”
Be sure to check these too:
* MORE OF MY 787 DELIVERY PHOTOS
* Great roof shot of both aircraft from Boeing
* Gallery from the Seattle PI
This is a great plane, I wonder though, just how big these planes are getting nowadays? I worked for Boeing in Irving, TX 15 years ago when we were building Boeing 757, that thing was huge and I haven’t had a chance to flight on it yet but imagining how huge and technological advanced the Dreamliner is, it’s incredibly awesome.