Air New Zealand’s first 787-9 rolling out of the paint hangar. Photo – Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter.com
Unsurprisingly, given the time (9:00pm) at Paine Field, it was dark. Even with that, and the incipient precipitation- there was good reason to be on the Boeing Commercial aircraft ramp.
ZK-NZE under tow from the paint shop. Photo – Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter.com
Boeing had chosen 9:00pm to roll Air New Zealand’s first 787-9 (ZK-NZE) out of their paint shop – and invited AirlineReporter along!
The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the flight line at Paine Field (KPAE) – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is expected to be delivered to Air New Zealand sometime in mid-2014. Before then, the aircraft has quite a few tests to complete prior to being certified, and Boeing has one fun adventure planned starting this weekend.
According to the Australian Business Traveller (AusBT), the Dreamliner will conduct stop-overs during testing in Auckland, Brisbane, and Alice Springs.
Not only will this allow the 787-9 to spread its wings, but it will also give those of you who live in the area a chance to catch one of the first glimpses of the longer Dreamliner.
Air New Zealand’s new white fern livery seen on the 787-9 Dreamliner – Image: Air New Zealand
The test aircraft will take advantage of Australia’s hot temperatures in Alice Springs to test out the stretched Dreamliner. The plane flown down will be the second of three test aircraft Boeing is currently using, ZB002. It will be set up with a bunch of different testing equipment and Boeing tells AirlineReporter it will also, “be fitted with elements of the passenger interior.” Boeing will test the plane’s environmental control system and chose Alice Springs because the location, “meets specific test requirements for both facility and atmospheric conditions.”
“Boeing is proud to bring the 787-9 to Auckland to show Air New Zealand what the team has achieved,†said Mark Jenks, vice president, 787 Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “With more than 150 flights since testing began in September, the test fleet continues to perform very well, and we look forward to delivering the first 787-9 in mid-2014 as promised.â€
Air New Zealand flight crew aboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner mock-up – Photo: Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has been very patient, waiting for delivery of the very first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the stretched version of the currently-flying 787-8. We have been watching closely as the first 787-9 rolled out of paint and then took its maiden flight. The airline still has a while until they take delivery sometime in the middle of 2014, but they are starting to get excited and want to share it with the world.
As of now, Air New Zealand is rolling out some of the details of their Dreamliner interior, as well as what routes the new aircraft will fly.
To describe the feeling of the new lounge in one word: Home. It has different areas that each have their own energy, but all come back to being very home-like. Well, it’s a higher-end feeling than my home, but still it feels like it was meant for be lived in, rather than just looked at or enjoyed for a short amount of time.
Due to the rapid popularity this new safety video from Air New Zealand, our guess that many of you have already seen it. But we wanted to make sure that if you haven’t, you get the opportunity and if you have — well heck, it is worth another gander.
Doing safety videos like this are cleaver for two main reasons. The first is it makes frequent fliers stop, watch and be reminded of what to do in case of an emergency. Secondly, they surely get Air New Zealand some nice publicity for coming up with some creative material.
