Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Visits New Zealand In Int'l. Debut

(RTTNews) - Boeing Co. (BA) announced that it has flown the 787-9 Dreamliner to Auckland, home of launch customer Air New Zealand, marking the 787-9's international debut and longest flight since the robust test program began.

According to Boeing, the second of three 787-9s dedicated to the flight-test program, ZB002 flew direct from Seattle's Boeing Field to Auckland International Airport, departing January 3 at 9:55 a.m. local time and landing nearly 13 hours, 49 minutes later. The airplane is slated to continue on to Alice Springs, Australia, for testing in hot weather.

The 787-9 would complement and extend the super-efficient 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 20 feet over the 787-8, the 787-9 would fly up to 40 more passengers an additional 300 nautical miles (555 km) with the same exceptional environmental performance, 20% less fuel use and 20% fewer emissions than similarly sized aircraft. The 787-9 leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering passengers features like large windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride, Boeing added.

The company said is on track to deliver the 787-9 to launch customer Air New Zealand in mid-2014. Meanwhile, 26 customers from worldwide have ordered 402 787-9s, accounting for 39 percent of all 787 orders.