UNITED AIRLINES has taken delivery of its initial Boeing 787-9, N38950 (c/n 36402), to become the first carrier in North America to operate both the 787-8 and the 787-9 variants of the Dreamliner family. The jet, which arrived on September 4, is one of 26 of the stretched version United has on order. Following the handover the carrier’s technicians performed company-specific software installations and hardware upgrades. It was then flown to United's Houston hub for additional training flights before entering service in late September. “The 787-9 builds on the Dreamliner’s fuel efficiency and customer comfort while giving us even more flexibility and range,” said United’s Vice President of Fleet, Ron Baur. The aircraft’s extended range – 8,550 miles (13,760km) – will enable it to operate the carrier's new Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia service, due to start on October 16, which will be the longest Dreamliner route in the world to date. United's 787-9s are configured in a three-class cabin containing 252 seats with 48 in BusinessFirst, 88 Economy Plus and 116 Economy seats. This is the 12th Dreamliner to enter service with the carrier and it has a further 53 jets on order: a single -8, 25 more -9s and 27 of the larger –10s.
(Photo Boeing)
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November 2014
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