United’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Houston. Photo: Brandon Farris
It has been a long journey, but I am proud to say that I have finally flown on a Dreamliner.
After two years of trying to get on the 787-8 Dreamliner, I finally had my opportunity to step aboard one of the most amazing aircraft ever built.My flight, United 1169, was from Houston to Los Angeles; they fly the aircraft once a day between these cities for positioning, and when I stumbled on it I couldn’t resist.
As time call to board my flight (in the Economy Plus section), it finally began to sink in that I was about to board the plane I have lost many nights of sleep over. I have followed the issues the plane has had throughout its flight test program and entry into service.
The aircraft I was flying on, N26902, has quite a history and actually is one of the 787s that cost me a couple night’s sleep, as it was the plane that diverted to New Orleans back in December, 2012, when the battery saga was beginning to catch fire. The aircraft also completed the inaugural flights for United to Tokyo Narita from Los Angeles, becoming the first 787 flown by a non-Japanese airline to land in Japan. Weeks later, it completed United’s first flight to Shanghai.
We are getting closer and closer to the next Aviation Geek Fest Seattle (#AGF14) and it is going to be bigger and better than ever. The dates have been locked in; February 15th and 16th 2014, which is President’s Day Weekend.
What is Aviation Geek Fest you ask? It is a two-day hootenanny of aviation goodness in Seattle. Pretty much if you are an AvGeek, you are going to LOVE it.
I just met with the Future of Flight on Friday and although we don’t have too many details at this point, we are in the process of making things happen and I think you will be happy with the results. But there are things that you can do to prepare now.
The Aviation Geek Fest 2010 peeps pose in front of a GE90 engine on a Boeing 777. Image: Boeing.
There is meaning behind the color for the 777X – Image: Boeing
With all the excitement of the new Boeing 777X orders announced at the Dubai Airshow, one might have missed the fact that the aircraft is showing off a new color for the Boeing livery. Is it red? Maroon? No, it is a very rich burgundy.
To date, we have seen a rainbow of colors showing up on new Boeing aircraft and the choice of burgundy is no accident.
I had the opportunity to speak with Rob Pollack, vice president Advertising, Brand and Market Positioning with Boeing to try answer why burgundy was to become the official color for the 777X.
Just-launched Boeing 777-8X & 777-9X, ordered in record numbers at the Dubai Airshow – Image: Boeing
The first day of the 2013 Dubai Airshow kicked off with a bang. As we slept, Boeing racked up 225 new orders for their newly-launched 777X program. With the existing 34 orders from Lufthansa, the official launch of the plane comes with huge order support from customers. “We are proud to partner with each of these esteemed airlines to launch the 777X ’“ the largest and most-efficient twin-engine jetliner in the world,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. “Its ground-breaking engine technologies and all-new composite wing will deliver unsurpassed value and growth potential to our customers.”
Night-time rendering of Boeing 777-9X – Image: Boeing
The 777X program wasn’t the only Day One winner for Boeing, however. Etihad also booked orders for 30 787-10s, which brings their total Dreamliner orders up to 71 – making them the largest airline customer for the 787 and pushing the program over 1,000 orders. Mideast short-haul carrier flydubai also made an order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX8 birds.
Composite image of a Lufthansa Boeing 777-9X – Image: Lufthansa
Today, Lufthansa Airlines announced a major long-haul order split between the Airbus A350-900 and the Boeing 777-9X. The airline stated it would be adding at least 24 777-9X and 25 of the Airbus A350-900 to their fleet starting as early as 2016. The order is worth about $19 billion USD at list prices, although it is very likely that the airline received a substantial discount from both manufacturers.
Of course, the most interesting part of this order is the fact that Boeing has not officially launched the 777-9X.
